At a Fort Myers rally on 23 October, Trump said US ships would stop off Cuba on their way back from Iran, with Marco Rubio sent in to finish the deal.
US authorities issued the warrant on Monday, 19 October, for conspiracy to commit murder over the 1996 downing of two civilian planes that killed three Americans and a US resident.
Foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez said Cuba is not a threat. In the week of 19 October, Cuban representatives shouted at US ambassador Mike Waltz at a UN event, ahead of the General Assembly embargo vote due in the week of 26 October.
At a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, 23 October, Donald Trump said Washington would deal with Cuba once its operations against Iran were over. He described one of the passing warships stopping about 50 yards (45 metres) off the Cuban coast, with its crew raising their hands, before Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be sent to finish the deal. Trump gave the answer after a voter asked what would happen with Cuba, and he said Rubio would resolve the situation because he was a great guy. The remarks came days before the midterm elections, in which rising fuel and grocery prices have become a concern for voters.
“We'll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran.”
Trump also pointed to the January US military operation in Venezuela, which led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, who is now awaiting trial in New York on drug-related charges.
Rubio wrote on social media, addressed to those who seek to create positive change, that now was the time for Cubans to act. He pointed to failed promises, corruption and the privileged lives of a few, and urged Cubans to seize the opportunity through a discreet partnership with the CIA. Europa Press reported that Rubio also predicted a possible change of regime on the island. Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, answered on social media that the island's coast would be inhospitable for anyone arriving with hostile aims and a desire for domination. He rejected any threat from the United States and placed the blame elsewhere.
“Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is.”
US authorities issued an arrest warrant on Monday, 19 October, for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder. The warrant holds him responsible for the 1996 shooting down of two civilian planes flying over international waters, which belonged to Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue), a group of Cuban exiles. The incident killed three Americans and a US resident. El Periódico reported that Castro was minister of the Armed Forces at the time. The warrant came as Cuba faced an oil blockade imposed by the United States in early 2026, leaving the island short of fuel and facing constant blackouts.
Trump also said the US might carry out another little Epic Fury operation against Iran, the name given to its first military operation against Iran, and gave no details. He said Washington could instead accept a deal, but doubted Iran's leaders would do so. Trump put Iran's inflation at 301%, which he called the highest in the world, and said the US navy was keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed to Iran. In the week of 19 October, US diplomats hosted an event at the UN featuring Cuban dissidents, and Cuba's ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán and other representatives shouted at US ambassador Mike Waltz as he left. The annual UN General Assembly vote on a non-binding resolution calling for an end to the US embargo is due in the week of 26 October, and it has passed by wide margins each year since 1992. Only the US Congress can lift the embargo, which has been in place for more than 60 years.
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Trump said at a Florida rally on 23 October that US warships would stop off Cuba on their way back from Iran, with Marco Rubio sent in to close the deal. The remarks followed a US arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, issued on Monday, 19 October.
AI text based on reports by europa press, The Guardian, RTP and other publishers. Published .