On October 1, 2025, the simmering tensions between the United States and Cuba took center stage as Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla accused U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio of waging a personal campaign against the Caribbean nation and its allies. In a candid interview with The Associated Press, Rodríguez painted a picture of a U.S. foreign policy at odds with its own president’s stated intentions, driven instead by what he described as Rubio’s “very personal and corrupt agenda.”
Rodríguez, who has served as Cuba’s top diplomat since 2009, did not mince words. “The current secretary of state was not born in Cuba, has never been to Cuba, and knows nothing about Cuba,” he said, adding, “But there is a very personal and corrupt agenda that he is carrying out, which seems to be sacrificing the national interests of the U.S. in order to advance this very extremist approach.” According to the Associated Press, Rodríguez’s remarks reflect a deep frustration with what he sees as a hardline, ideologically driven strategy coming from Washington.
At the heart of Rodríguez’s criticism is the assertion that Rubio’s policies do not reflect President Donald Trump’s supposed mandate for peace. When Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, there was, according to Rodríguez, a glimmer of hope in Havana that the longstanding antagonism between the two nations might thaw. Instead, he claims, Rubio’s “maximum pressure” campaign has only intensified, dashing any early optimism for improved relations.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long been a vocal opponent of leftist regimes in Latin America. His tough stance against the Cuban government, which he and other U.S. officials have repeatedly labeled a dictatorship, has resonated with many members of the Cuban and Venezuelan diaspora in Florida. In a statement issued in July, Rubio declared, “The U.S. will continue to stand for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Cuba, and make clear no illegitimate, dictatorial regimes are welcome in our hemisphere.”
The U.S. State Department, for its part, declined to comment on Rodríguez’s allegations. However, officials close to Rubio have consistently defended the administration’s approach, emphasizing a commitment to human rights and democracy in the region. According to the Associated Press, these officials see the hardline measures as necessary to pressure the Cuban government and support the Cuban people’s aspirations for freedom.
Rodríguez, however, sees things differently. He argues that the U.S. economic embargo, which has now lasted for more than six decades, has inflicted severe hardship on ordinary Cubans without achieving its intended goal of toppling the government. Chronic energy blackouts, food shortages, and rampant inflation have become facts of daily life on the island. “While the embargo has not succeeded in toppling the government, its effects have been devastating,” Rodríguez acknowledged in his interview.
The Trump administration has doubled down on punitive measures against Cuba, reinstating sanctions that had been eased during the Obama and Biden presidencies. Notably, just days before leaving office, President Biden had moved to lift Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Trump reversed that decision immediately after his inauguration, putting Cuba back on the list. The administration also imposed stringent travel restrictions, revoked temporary legal protections for roughly 300,000 Cuban nationals in the U.S., and targeted Cuban medical missions abroad—policies that Rubio has described as essential to combating what he calls “forced labor.”
Rodríguez attributes these escalations less to the White House itself and more to what he describes as a “bipolar” State Department. He suggested that the real driver of U.S. policy is not President Trump, whom he characterized as portraying himself as an advocate of peace, but rather Rubio, who “promotes the use of force or the threat to use force as an everyday, customary tool.”
Rubio’s influence on U.S. policy toward Latin America did not begin with his appointment as secretary of state. As a Florida senator, he was already a leading voice for interventionist policies, particularly against leftist leaders such as Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. His personal background—his parents fled Cuba in 1956, just before Fidel Castro’s revolution—has shaped his worldview and political priorities. According to the Associated Press, Rubio’s consistent criticism of communism has helped him win support from the Venezuelan community in Florida, many of whom fled their own country’s economic collapse and political unrest.
Recent U.S. military maneuvers have further heightened tensions in the region. In a move that drew sharp criticism from Havana, the U.S. dispatched a fleet of warships to waters off Venezuela following lethal strikes on alleged drug boats. Rodríguez described Cuba’s response as “full solidarity” with Venezuela and warned that the unusual naval buildup, coupled with speculation that Trump might attempt to topple Maduro, “could bring about unforeseeable and catastrophic consequences.” When pressed on whether Cuba would support Venezuela militarily in the event of an invasion, Rodríguez was circumspect, saying, “We do not know what the future can bring.”
Despite the current climate of hostility, Rodríguez maintains that Cuba is open to dialogue with the United States. He pointed out that, even amid rising tensions, officials from both countries have continued to cooperate on issues such as counterterrorism and migration. “We are fully willing, as we have always been, to begin right now, today, a serious and responsible dialogue with the current U.S. administration,” he said, signaling a willingness to seek common ground despite the obstacles.
For Cuba, the stakes could hardly be higher. The economic embargo has left the island’s economy in tatters, and the recent tightening of sanctions has only deepened the crisis. The government in Havana is desperate for relief, but the path forward is fraught with uncertainty. Rodríguez and other Cuban officials have, according to the Associated Press, carefully avoided direct criticism of President Trump, perhaps in hopes of keeping the door open for future negotiations. But with Rubio at the helm of the State Department, prospects for a dramatic shift in U.S.-Cuba relations appear slim.
Meanwhile, the situation in Venezuela remains a flashpoint. The U.S. has made it clear that it wants Cuba to end its support for Maduro, whom Washington accuses of relying on Cuban military and intelligence assistance to cling to power. Rodríguez’s warnings about the risks of military escalation are a stark reminder of just how volatile the region has become.
As the U.S. and Cuba navigate this turbulent period, the world watches closely. The choices made in Washington and Havana in the coming months could have profound consequences not just for the two countries, but for the wider Caribbean and Latin America. For now, the possibility of a thaw remains distant, but the willingness of leaders on both sides to keep talking may yet offer a glimmer of hope.
