Overview
- On Jan. 11, President Donald Trump used Truth Social to share a Jan. 8 X post by a low-activity user saying “Marco Rubio will be president of Cuba,” adding “sounds good.”
- Coverage citing AFP stresses the repost functions as provocative rhetoric rather than an announcement of U.S. policy.
- The online gesture followed U.S. operations that captured former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and accompanied threats to end Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba as Trump urged Havana to “make a deal.”
- Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez denied receiving payment for “security services” and asserted a right to buy fuel, while President Miguel Díaz‑Canel said Cuba is sovereign and “nobody tells us what to do.”
- Marco Rubio, the Miami-born son of Cuban immigrants, is serving as secretary of state and has been a high-profile figure on Cuba and Venezuela as the episode triggered a wave of social-media memes.