Rubio tells Cubans 'now is the time' to act as Trump floats naval stop off Cuba

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Cubans who want political change in their country to act, saying "now is the time". His social media post came shortly after President Donald Trump told a Friday rally in south Florida that US warships could intervene in Cuba on their way home from the war with Iran. The comments matter because relations between Washington and Havana have long been strained, and the US has recently stepped up pressure on the island.

Rubio wrote that disappointment over failed promises, corruption and the privileged lives of a few should push Cubans to seize the opportunity and create change through a "discrete" partnership with the CIA, the US intelligence agency. He appeared to have misused the word, writing "discrete" (separate) instead of "discreet" (secret).

Trump's remarks

Trump first floated the idea earlier this year but had not mentioned it in recent months. At the rally, answering a question shouted from the crowd, he said ships returning from Iran would pass Cuba, one would stop about 50 yards off the coast, and Rubio would be sent in to "finish up the deal". The event took place days before US midterm elections, in which voters have voiced concern about the Iran war's effect on prices, from gas to groceries.

Earlier steps

In May, Trump and Rubio already raised the prospect of US military intervention in Cuba, and the threat gained weight after the administration announced criminal charges against Cuba's former leader Raúl Castro. Rubio has said Cuba has for years been a national security threat because of its ties to US adversaries, and he has doubted a diplomatic resolution is possible with the current government. His last in-depth public comments on Cuba came on 29 September, in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, in which he said Cuba "has already fallen".

US officials have met Cuban representatives in recent months but came away unimpressed, and more sanctions followed. This week the two countries clashed at the UN as Washington sought to build opposition to an upcoming annual vote condemning the US economic embargo on Cuba.

Situation in Cuba

Cuba has struggled with an economic and energy crisis since 2020. Its gross domestic product has shrunk, and its 10 million residents have endured blackouts, food shortages and inflation. There have been waves of protests, and hundreds of thousands of Cubans have emigrated, many to the United States.