US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that Cuba could become the next focus of the Trump administration’s push to reassert American influence across the Western Hemisphere, following recent US military action in Venezuela.
Speaking on Saturday, Rubio said Cuban officials would have reason to be concerned after a US operation in Venezuela led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. He remarked that if he were part of the Cuban government in Havana, he would feel at least some level of concern in light of recent developments.
Rubio, who has long taken a hard line on both Venezuela and Cuba, made the comments amid heightened regional tensions and renewed debate over Washington’s role in Latin America. His remarks were interpreted as a warning to Havana as the United States signals a more assertive foreign policy stance under President Donald Trump.
The United States has a long and controversial history of military and political interventions in Latin America.
One of the most notable examples occurred in April 1961, when about 1,400 Cuban exiles, trained and backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency, attempted to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro through an amphibious landing at the Bay of Pigs, roughly 250 kilometers from Havana.
The operation failed, leaving around 100 people dead on each side and consolidating the communist government’s grip on power.
Rubio’s latest comments are likely to heighten concerns in Cuba and across the region about potential future US actions, as Washington reassesses its strategy toward governments it considers hostile in the Americas.
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