Rubio floats CIA 'partnership' to Cubans tired of 'failed promises, corruption'

retained text

Rubio floats CIA ‘partnership’ to Cubans tired of ‘failed promises, corruption’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a discreet CIA partnership opportunity in a Friday social media post, saying “now is the time” for those looking to “create positive change” in the Caribbean country.
“The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete [sic] partnership with the CIA,” Rubio said in a post to the social platform X.
The U.S. government has offered CIA partnerships to residents of adversarial countries in the past, namely in Russia — where the agency launched a Telegram campaign in 2023 to encourage intelligence sharing.
Rubio’s post came after Trump again suggested the U.S. could take military action in Cuba at a rally in Fort Myers, Fla.
“We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran,” Trump said. “Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands, and then we’re gonna send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.”
The president’s rhetoric on Cuba has escalated throughout the year. In March, Trump said “Cuba is next” after the Iran war and that he would have the “honor” of taking over the country.
The island nation has struggled with blackouts and supply shortages as the Trump administration has increased pressure on its communist regime through sanctions and an oil blockade. Rubio said last month that Cuba was a “failed state.”
“Well, the truth is Cuba has already fallen,” Rubio told Fox New commentator Sean Hannity.
Still, it is unclear whether Trump plans to follow up on his threats of military action against Cuba. Throughout the Iran war, the president has threatened to destroy the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure and once warned “a whole civilization” would die unless “something revolutionarily wonderful” happened before a time limit he set — only for the U.S. to back off before the deadline.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

document fetched 2026-10-24 11:23 · canonical https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6169754-rubio-offers-cia-cuban-partnership