Rubio pitches secret CIA deal as Trump floats 50-yard ship stopover

Washington is sending mixed signals to Havana, pairing a call for covert cooperation with a revived threat of naval intervention. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Cubans that the moment to seek political change has arrived, speaking shortly after President Donald Trump suggested US warships could intervene in the country as they return from the Iran war.

In a social media post addressed to those seeking positive change, Rubio cited broken promises, corruption, and the privileged lifestyles of a few as reasons to act. He encouraged citizens to seize the opportunity to create change through a "discrete" partnership with the CIA. Rubio, whose parents left Cuba before the socialist revolution, used the word "discrete" in his post, likely intending "discreet" to mean private or secret.

Trump first proposed the naval idea earlier this year but had not mentioned it in recent months. He brought it back on Friday in response to a question shouted from the crowd at a rally for candidates in South Florida. The event occurred just days before midterm elections, where voters have expressed concern about how the Iran conflict has affected prices for gas and groceries.

The President described a scenario where ships pass Cuba on their return from Iran. He said one vessel would stop about 50 yards off the coast, and the crew would raise their hands. Trump then said he would send Rubio to "finish up the deal."

Havana mocked the comments on Friday. Cuban deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio wrote on X that the US was resorting to public recruitment for the CIA. He added that the agency must be experiencing great desperation or misery to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste.

The administration has maintained an aggressive posture toward the island. In May, Trump and Rubio raised the prospect of military action, a threat that gained weight after the administration announced criminal charges against former leader Raúl Castro. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that while previous presidents considered intervening for decades, it looked like he would be the one to do it. Rubio stated that Cuba had long been a national security threat due to its ties to US adversaries and that the administration doubted a peaceful resolution was possible with the current government.

Diplomatic efforts have been uneven. Rubio and other senior aides met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore better relations, but the US side was unimpressed and imposed more sanctions. In late September, Rubio told Fox News that Cuba had already fallen, describing a country without a functional economy. He did not mention a CIA operation in that interview. Cuba has faced an economic and energy crisis since 2020, with a shrinking gross domestic product, blackouts, food shortages, and inflation affecting its 10 million residents.