Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump raises new threat of
military action
[May 22, 2026]
By MATTHEW LEE and WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and America's top diplomat on
Thursday again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba,
a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the
administration announced criminal charges against the island's former
leader, Raúl Castro.
Trump said previous U.S. presidents have considered intervening in Cuba
for decades but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”
“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing
something,” Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an
environmental event in the Oval Office. “And, it looks like I’ll be the
one that does it. So, I would be happy to do it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters separately that Cuba has
been a national security threat for years because of its ties to U.S.
adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it.
Rubio says the US prefers a negotiated agreement with Cuba
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has long taken a hard-line
against Cuba’s socialist leadership, said the Trump administration wants
to resolve differences with Cuba peacefully but is doubtful the U.S. can
reach a diplomatic resolution with the island's current government.
Trump's “preference is always a negotiated agreement that’s peaceful.
That’s always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba,”
Rubio said in Miami before boarding a plane to attend a NATO meeting in
Sweden and then visit India.
“I’m just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that
happening, given who we’re dealing with right now, is not high,” he
said.
Top Trump aides — including Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and other
senior national security officials — have met with Cuban officials in
recent months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the
U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even
more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government in the past week.
Over the years, Cuba has gotten used to “buying time and waiting us
out,” Rubio said. “They’re not going to be able to wait us out or buy
time. We’re very serious, we’re very focused.”
When asked whether the U.S. would use force in Cuba to change the
island's political system, Rubio repeated that a diplomatic settlement
was preferred but noted that “the president always has the option to do
whatever it takes to support and protect the national interest.”
He pushed back on a reporter’s suggestion that it sounded like
“nation-building,” insisting it was about addressing a national security
risk.
New threats follow US announcement of charges against Castro
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled an indictment that accuses
Castro of ordering the shootdown in 1996 of civilian planes flown by
Miami-based exiles. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand
jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has condemned the indictment as a
political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military
aggression against Cuba.”
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends at a press conference at
the US Embassy in Rome, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Stefano Rellandini/Pool
Photo via AP)
The Castro indictment has led many to believe that the Trump
administration is following the same playbook it did when it
captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military
operation in early January. Maduro, who has been imprisoned in the
U.S. since his seizure, faces federal drug trafficking charges and
has pleaded not guilty.
The U.S. military touted the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft
carrier and accompanying ships to the Caribbean Sea on the same day
the charges against Castro were announced. U.S. Southern Command
said the ships are taking part in maritime exercises with partners
in Latin America that began in March.
Rubio would not discuss how the U.S. might move to implement the
indictment against Castro, who turns 95 next month.
Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since
ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off
fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts, food
shortages and an economic collapse across the island.
The Trump administration this month also has slapped new sanctions
on Cuba, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administración
Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban
Revolutionary Armed Forces.
On Thursday, Rubio announced that the sister of the GAESA's
executive president, who was living in the U.S., has had her green
card revoked and been arrested, and is now in U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement custody.
“Past Administrations have permitted the families of Cuban military
elites, Iranian terrorists and other reprehensible organizations to
enjoy lavish lifestyles in our country funded by stolen blood-money,
while the people they repress at home suffer in increasingly dire
circumstances. No longer,” Rubio said in a statement.
Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging
to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership
did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S.
adversaries.
On Thursday, Rubio said Cuba poses a serious national security
threat to America because of its security and intelligence ties with
China and Russia and friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin
America.
China opposes U.S. sanctions and pressure on Cuba, a Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said Thursday.
“China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty
and national dignity and opposes external interference,” Guo added.
___
Associated Press writers Simina Mistreanu in Bangkok and Ben Finley
in Washington contributed to this report.
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