Rubio Tells Cubans 'Now Is the Time' to Seek Change as Trump Revives Warship Idea

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Cubans who want political change in their country to act, declaring that "now is the time." His message came shortly after President Donald Trump told a Friday rally for candidates in south Florida that American warships could intervene in Cuba as they return from the Iran war.

In a social media post addressed "to those who seek to create positive change," Rubio pointed to the disappointment of failed promises, corruption and the privileged lives of a few. He encouraged Cubans to seize the opportunity to create the change they desire "through a discrete [sic] partnership with the CIA." Rubio, whose parents left Cuba for the United States before the socialist revolution, appeared to have used "discrete," meaning separate, when he likely meant "discreet," meaning private or secret.

Trump first floated the idea earlier this year but had not mentioned it in recent months. He brought it back in response to a question shouted from the crowd about the island nation. The event took place just days before midterm elections, in which voters have voiced concern about how the war on Iran has affected prices for goods ranging from gas to groceries.

"We'll do a little stopover," Trump said. He described ships passing Cuba on the return from Iran, with one stopping about 50 yards off the coast. "They'll raise up their hands. And then we're going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal," he said.

Havana mocked the comments on Friday. Cuban deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio wrote on X that the US was "resorting to public recruitment for the CIA." He added: "There must be a great deal of desperation or misery within the agency for it to be forced to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste."

Trump and Rubio have both sounded aggressive on Cuba. Trump previously suggested the country would "be next" for intervention abroad, after the Iran war winds down, something he has long predicted but which has not yet happened. In May the two raised the prospect of military action, a threat that carried more weight after the administration announced criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that earlier presidents had considered intervening for decades but that "it looks like I'll be the one that does it." Rubio said Cuba had long been a national security threat because of its ties to US adversaries. He said the administration wanted a peaceful resolution but doubted one could be reached with the current government.

Rubio had not addressed Cuba in depth publicly for several weeks. In a 29 September Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, he said "Cuba has already fallen," describing a country without a functional economy, run by people preaching a revolution that has been dead for 20 years. He voiced hope that Cuba would choose a different path, and said the US would never allow it to become a base of operations against American interests. He did not mention any CIA operation.

Diplomacy has been uneven. Rubio and other senior aides have met Cuban officials in recent months to explore better relations, but the US side came away unimpressed, and more sanctions followed. In his speech to the UN general assembly last month, Trump said Rubio was "deep into negotiations with Cuba." Days later he told reporters he expected the two countries "will make a deal" and did not think the military would be needed. Earlier this week, the two governments clashed at the UN as Washington sought to build opposition to an upcoming annual vote condemning the US economic embargo.

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