Rubio urges Cubans to work with the CIA as Trump says the US will ‘take care of Cuba’ after Iran

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday called on Cubans seeking political change to make ‘discreet’ contact with American intelligence services^1,3.

Rubio framed the appeal as a partnership with the CIA for Cubans tired of ‘failed promises, corruption’, and told them that ‘now is the time’ to act^2,5.

His appeal followed threats from President Donald Trump to send warships to Cuba after the war with Iran^2,9.

At a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida, where Cuban Americans are politically potent, Trump said Washington would deal with Cuba once Iran was settled⁸.

“We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran ... then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal,” Trump told the rally¹.

He described US warships doing ‘a little stopover’, saying: “We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands”⁶.

Havana’s response

Cuba on Friday mocked what it called US ‘desperation’ after Rubio’s appeal^3,4.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced what he called a new threat of military intervention against the Caribbean nation by the US president⁷.

Havana has also accused the United States of intensifying its decades-old economic blockade through restrictions on oil supplies and secondary sanctions, and has warned of the humanitarian cost as a United Nations vote approaches¹¹.

A US oil blockade has deepened Cuba’s shortages and drawn condemnation at the UN¹⁰.

Why it matters to investors

The remarks put regime change in Cuba openly on the administration’s agenda: coverage of the appeal described Washington as seeking to topple the Cuban government, and the secretary of state’s direct call to Cubans was called a surprising development^9,12.

The timing ties Cuba policy to the course of the Iran war, which Trump has said he is weighing whether to end or to use to weaken Tehran further¹⁰.

The pressure already runs through energy: the oil blockade and secondary sanctions are the tools Havana says are squeezing its economy^10,11.

The rally setting also links the threats to the midterm campaign in Florida, where Cuban American voters carry weight⁸.

What to watch

The first marker is whether US warships returning from the Middle East do approach Cuba, as Trump described at the rally^1,6.

The second is the UN vote on the US embargo, which Havana is using to press its case that the blockade has intensified¹¹.

The third is whether the State Department follows Rubio’s appeal with further measures aimed at Cubans seeking change^2,5.