Politics
NEW: Rubio Puts Longtime U.S. Adversary On Notice Following Venezuela Operation
Secretary of State Marco Rubio put Cuba’s communist government on notice after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro — one of Havana’s closest allies — in a daring pre-dawn raid on Saturday morning.
President Donald Trump acknowledged that Saturday’s action would likely have a ripple effect in the region, likely for Cuba and also Nicaragua, while speaking at a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
“Well, Cuba is an interesting case. Cuba, as you know, is not doing very well right now. That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years. And I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now,” the president said.
“Very badly failing nation. And we want to help the people of—it’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country,” Trump continued before asking Rubio if he had anything to add.
“Well, I mean, I just gave you a statement a few minutes ago about, you know, when the president speaks, you should take him seriously,” the secretary responded after stepping up to the podium.
“So suffice it to say, you know, Cuba is a disaster. It’s run by incompetent, senile men and in some cases not senile but incompetent nonetheless. It has no economy. It’s in total collapse. And by the way, you know, they were—all the guards that helped protect Maduro, this is well known, their whole spy agency, all that were full of Cubans. I mean, they basically—it’s amazing—this poor island took over Venezuela in some cases,” he continued.
“One of the biggest problems that Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba. They tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint. So, yeah, look, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit.”
The governments of Cuba and Venezuela have indeed maintained a close relationship since the rise of Hugo Chávez in 1999. This alliance has evolved into a deeply interdependent partnership, often described as asymmetrical, where Venezuela provides vital economic support to Cuba in exchange for Cuban expertise in healthcare, education, and security.
The bond has persisted through political transitions, including Chávez’s death in 2013 and the ongoing leadership of Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba, who took power after the Castro family ruled Cuba since the revolution in the 1950’s.
Venezuela supplies Cuba with up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day at heavily subsidized rates — equivalent to $10-12 billion in annual subsidies — which provides vital energy supplies to Havana as it deals with a crisis in the sector. This crisis has accelerated since President Trump ordered a blockade of Venezuelan oil shipments, leading some analysts to project a potential collapse of the Cuban regime.
In return, Cuba deploys tens of thousands of professionals, including doctors, teachers, and technicians, to support Venezuela’s social programs.
On the security front, Havana exerts significant influence over Venezuela’s government and military apparatus. Cuban advisors, including intelligence and military personnel, have trained Venezuelan forces in guerrilla warfare, asymmetrical conflict strategies, and counterinsurgency tactics. This includes deep involvement in Venezuela’s intelligence services, such as SEBIN, where Cuban operatives assist in suppressing dissent and maintaining the Venezuelan regime’s control.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel
Secretary Rubio doubled down on the Trump Administration’s posture against Cuba during an appearance on “Meet The Press” Sunday, when he was asked by host Kristen Welker whether Cuba was “next.”
The secretary responded by acknowledging that Cuba is a “huge problem,” at which point Welker followed up by asking if his answer constituted a “yes.”
“I think they’re in a lot of trouble, yes. I’m not going to talk to you about what our future steps are going to be and our policies are going to be right now in this regard, but I don’t think it’s any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime,” Rubio answered. The secretary then reiterated that the Cuban regime holds deep sway over the interworking of Venezuela’s government.
“One of the untold stories here is how, in essence, you talk about colonization, because I think you said [Venezuelan Vice President] Delcy Rodriguez mentioned that. The ones who have sort of colonized, at least inside the regime, are Cubans. It was Cubans that guarded Maduro. He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards,” he added.
“In terms of their internal intelligence, who spies on who inside to make sure there are no traitors, those are all Cubans.”
