Rubio urges Cubans to work with CIA as Trump raises intervention

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Cubans seeking political change to work with the CIA on Friday, shortly after President Donald Trump suggested American warships returning from the war with Iran could stop off Cuba. A senior Cuban official mocked Rubio’s appeal as a public recruitment drive for the intelligence agency.

“To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba – now is the time,” Rubio wrote on X. Citing “the disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few,” he urged people to seize the opportunity for change through a partnership with the CIA. The Guardian reproduced his post with the word “discrete”; Al Jazeera quoted it as “discreet.”

At a campaign rally for candidates in south Florida, Trump revived the prospect of action in Cuba after someone in the crowd shouted a question about the island, The Guardian reported. “We’ll do a little stopover,” he said, describing ships passing Cuba on their return from Iran. “We’ll have one of them stop 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.”

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio responded on X: “Now the United States is 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.”

Al Jazeera reported that the CIA later posted a Spanish-language video on X with instructions for people who believe they have information of interest to the agency. It advised them to visit a U.S. embassy in person if they could travel safely to one.

The exchanges follow months of mounting U.S. pressure on Havana. In May, Trump said previous presidents had considered intervening in Cuba and that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it,” according to The Guardian. Rubio said at the time that the administration wanted to resolve differences peacefully but doubted it could reach a diplomatic settlement with Cuba’s current government.

More recently, Trump said Rubio was “deep into negotiations with Cuba” and that he expected the countries to reach a deal. “I don’t think we’ll need the military. Cuba is failing very badly,” Trump told reporters, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reported that U.S. and Cuban officials had met in recent months, but Washington was unimpressed by the talks and imposed further sanctions.

Cuba has faced an economic and energy crisis since 2020, with blackouts, food shortages and inflation affecting its 10 million residents, The Guardian reported. Al Jazeera reported that a U.S.-imposed oil blockade this year has intensified fuel shortages and blackouts. Washington has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years.