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8h ago

Trump Endorses Joke About Rubio Leading Cuba, Escalates Pressure on Havana

The posts underscore a campaign to cut Venezuelan lifelines to Cuba following Maduro’s capture.

Several thousand members of over 100 Cuban exile groups march down Little Havana's Calle Ocho in Miami in March 2003.
Cuban exiles play dominoes at Maximo Gomez Park in Little Havana in November 1997.
In this July 2017 photo, Rubio is joined by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as they speak on the phone with a Venezuelan opposition leader in Washington, DC.
In this March 1996 photo, Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole shakes hands with supporters in the Little Havana section of Miami, after laying a memorial wreath at the Brigade 2506 Memorial.

Overview

  • President Trump replied "Sounds good to me" to a social media post suggesting Secretary of State Marco Rubio could become Cuba’s president, a quip with no formal policy attached.
  • Trump warned there will be "no more oil or money" going to Cuba from Venezuela and urged Havana to "make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," with the White House amplifying the message online.
  • Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected the U.S. assertions, denied dependence on Venezuelan oil for security services, and condemned what he called criminal interference.
  • Rubio remains the administration’s point person after the Venezuela raid, simultaneously serving as secretary of state, acting national security adviser and acting national archivist, a portfolio that has fueled viral memes.
  • The sharper focus on Cuba comes days after U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro; reports say Washington is moving to control Venezuelan oil flows as Maduro awaits trial in New York.