The new statements by president Donald Trump regarding the possibility of sending military ships off the coast of Cuba sparked mockery and questioning on social media this Friday, where many Cubans linked his remarks to the approaching legislative elections on November 3 in the United States.
During a rally held at the Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida, to support the Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, Trump stated that, upon returning from Iran, his ships would pass by Cuba and one of them would stop about 50 yards off the coast, to which, he claimed, the Cubans would "raise their hands."
The leader also stated that he would send Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to negotiate with the Cuban government. "We can just leave it there, and he will sort it out. He’s a great guy," he remarked.
When CiberCuba shared the information on its Facebook page, the reactions from many users reflected a lack of confidence that those statements would translate into concrete actions.
"Collecting the final votes," "The elections are coming," and "Just pure electoral messaging, because if they lose one of the two chambers, they will be cornered," wrote users who connected the speech to the political dispute in the United States.
Others focused their criticism on the condition Trump set for the supposed naval deployment, placing it after the resumption of operations in Iran. "Did you hear that correctly? After Iran, meaning never. He fooled them again," commented one. Another summed up his disbelief with a popular phrase: "The story of the good pipe!"
The reference to a distance of 50 yards, about 46 meters, also fueled jokes. "Boats, with the island being 90 miles away?" asked a netizen.
Among the comments, references also emerged regarding the everyday issues faced by the Cuban population, particularly the extended power outages. "Blah, blah, blah. And meanwhile, in darkness land, we continue on, not the same, but worse than when this novel began, which apparently has no end," wrote another user.
Trump's statements add to a series of similar allusions this year. In May, the president suggested sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to about 100 yards off the Cuban coast.
In September, during the "Shield of the Americas" summit held in New York, he joked about taking Rubio to Cuba on an aircraft carrier and leaving him there to "take care of the rest."
The speech about Cuba coincided this Friday with an unusual message from Rubio on his official account, in which he publicly called on those seeking change on the island to collaborate with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
"For those looking to create positive change in Cuba: now is the time (...) seize this opportunity to generate the change you desire through discreet collaboration with the CIA," published the Secretary of State.
The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla responded with a rejection of American threats and aspirations of domination over the island. "We reject any threat regarding U.S. ambitions toward Cuba. Our shores have beautiful beaches, but also a dogtooth, inhospitable to those who arrive with hostile intentions and desires for domination," he wrote on social media.
The legislative elections on November 3 include in Florida a race for the governorship, one seat in the federal Senate, and several positions in the House of Representatives.
October surveys show Republicans leading with 52% compared to 41% among Cuban Americans in the Senate race, a figure that commentators attribute to the renewed prominence of the Cuban issue in the final days of the campaign.
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