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Trump says Cuba will «fall fairly soon» and Rubio calls it a threat to US security
The US president said on Monday at the White House that Cuba is «a failing nation» and that it will «fall fairly soon», according to ABC and Martí Noticias. The same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the island's instability threatens American national security.
Asked by ABC whether the Republican defeat in the midterm elections had changed his plans on Cuba, Trump made clear he is not backing down and predicted the island would fall soon. He spoke at an impromptu appearance at the White House, six days after a vote that handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.
In the clip circulated by the Rapid Response 47 account, linked to White House communications, Trump said: «Cuba is falling. It's a failing nation», and compared the Cuban government's ideology to that of the US Democratic Party without spelling out the argument. Periódico Cubano stresses that in that clip he announced no additional measures by his administration and did not specify whether he meant the fall of the Havana government or a worsening of the crisis.
Trump added that Cuban Americans «voted for me, 94 percent», a figure for which he gave no source, and said the United States is providing humanitarian aid to the island: «We will help them from a humanitarian standpoint. In fact, we are helping them. But we'll see what happens», according to Martí Noticias.
That same Monday the secretary of state argued that the island's central problem is that the Cuban government avoids granting freedoms for fear of losing control: «The regime there is afraid to give its people any kind of freedom, economic or otherwise, because they like to control them». Rubio said the instability and the «failed state» that, in his words, has taken shape in Cuba amount to «a threat to the national security and the national interests of the United States».
Rubio recalled that the US embargo «is codified in law and requires political freedom in order to be lifted», and accused the military conglomerate GAESA of «stealing what little the people have». He added that there are people inside the Cuban government with «millions and millions of dollars hidden in bank accounts all over the world». Infobae notes that he presented no documentation during that exchange, though he said the situation is «well documented».
Asked about the results of an earlier call for Cubans to contact the Central Intelligence Agency, the secretary of state declined to give details: «I wouldn't tell you if I got any results from the CIA, because then those people would not be doing very well».
The two sources place those remarks in different cities: Martí Noticias puts them at a press conference in Paris, after a meeting with G7 foreign ministers, while Infobae describes them as an exchange with reporters in Washington. The quotes both outlets report match.
Sources: ABC · Martí Noticias · Infobae · Periódico Cubano
Data updated: 2026-11-10T04:15:00.000Z