For Rubio the Cuba Hawk, the Road to Havana Runs Through Venezuela
President Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser has long sought to cripple or topple Cuba’s government, which has close security and economic ties to Venezuela.
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s parents immigrated to Florida from Havana three years before Cuba’s communist revolution prevailed in 1959." Credit: Allison Robbert for The New York Times [Note. The above image was modified from the original.]
It's looking more and more like the U.S. attack on Venezuelan boats, including the U.S.'s intercepting oil tankers like the Skipper, has a lot to do with Marco Rubio and his belief that if the US can get rid of Maduro, Cuba's communist government will be more vulnerable and might eventually collapse.
This is a gift 🎁 link, so there is no paywall. Below are some excerpts.
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Mr. Rubio, now Mr. Trump’s secretary of state and interim national security adviser, is a primary architect of an escalating military pressure campaign against Venezuela. And while pushing out Mr. Maduro appears to be one immediate goal of U.S. policy, doing so could help fulfill another decades-long dream of Mr. Rubio’s: dealing a critical blow to Cuba.
“Their theory of change involves cutting off all support to Cuba,” said Juan S. Gonzalez, who was President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s top White House aide for Western Hemisphere affairs. “Under this approach, once Venezuela goes, Cuba will follow.” [...] “It all goes back to Cuba — anything he can do to weaken the regime in Cuba,” said another U.S. official who was in briefings with Mr. Rubio during the first Trump administration. [...] Wishful talk, some say. The Cuban government has survived decades of isolation since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its Cold War ally. It continues to benefit from two powerful patrons, Russia and China, and is less reliant on Venezuela than it was a decade ago. U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and the resulting economic collapse have forced Mr. Maduro to reduce his oil exports to Havana in recent years.
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This New York Times video explains more about the connection between Rubio and the US attacks on Venezuela.
What’s Behind U.S. Attacks in the Caribbean? | The New York Times | Oct. 31, 2025 | Anatoly Kurmanaev (reporter) | Katrin Bennhold (narrator/ interviewer) [subtitles & visual modifications added]
