At a midterm-election campaign rally in Florida on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said American warships returning from the Middle East could be sent toward Cuba once the United States is done dealing with Iran — comments that drew an immediate rebuke from Havana.
“We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran,” Trump told the crowd, according to Reuters. “Those beautiful ships, they’ll pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands, and then we’re gonna send Marco Rubio in.”
Trump’s remarks came during a campaign stop ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, and they were the latest in a series of increasingly blunt statements the president has made about the island nation.
Cuba pushes back
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected the remarks in a post on X hours later.
“We reject every threat related to US ambitions toward Cuba,” Rodríguez wrote. “Our coastline is full of beautiful beaches, but there are also razor-sharp limestone spikes, an inhospitable environment for those who make it to our shores with hostile purposes and lust for domination.”
Rubio’s message to Cubans
Earlier the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — himself of Cuban descent — had called on the people of Cuba to form a “discreet partnership” with the Central Intelligence Agency, saying the move would bring “positive change” to the country.
“To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba — now is the time,” Rubio wrote on X. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discreet partnership with the CIA.”
Escalating pressure: sanctions, oil blockade, and the Iran warning
Trump’s Cuba remarks arrived wrapped inside a broader warning aimed at Iran. At the same rally, Trump suggested Washington could launch another military operation against Tehran, saying: “We may do another little Epic Fury.” Operation Epic Fury is the name the U.S. military uses for its war against Iran, the Times of Israel reported.
The Trump administration has said its stated goal is to change Cuba’s communist government. In recent months it has imposed new penalties on nine Cuban state-owned firms in the construction, mining, and metals sectors and tightened enforcement of rules restricting Americans traveling to the island from doing business with state-controlled enterprises.
A U.S.-imposed oil blockade earlier this year has put Cuba under severe strain, with fuel shortages and blackouts compounded by failing infrastructure, Reuters reported. Washington has maintained a trade embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years.
This is not the first time Trump has used the language of takeover. In May, speaking at a dinner in Palm Beach, he said: “Cuba, which we will be taking over almost immediately. Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first.”
The White House has stated that “the policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the US.”
Trump had, however, predicted last month that the U.S. and Cuba would reach an agreement and said he did not think military action would be necessary, Reuters reported.
Why this matters
A sitting U.S. president publicly suggesting warships could park off a neighboring country’s coast — and naming his secretary of state as the man to “finish the deal” — is the kind of statement that moves diplomacy, markets, and headlines. Cuba’s foreign minister has answered with defiance, framing the threats as part of a long-running blockade rather than a prelude to invasion.
For now, the words remain threats and posturing rather than announced policy. But with the oil blockade already straining the island’s economy and tensions with Iran still unresolved, the exchange marks a sharp turn in U.S.–Cuba relations — one worth watching closely.
Sources: Reuters (“Trump says US will ‘take care of Cuba’ on its way back from Iran,” Oct 23, 2026); The Tribune/ANI (“Will take care of Cuba after Iran, US warships could do a little stopover near Cuban offshores,” Oct 24, 2026); Times of Israel liveblog (Oct 23–24, 2026); biz.chosun.com (Oct 24, 2026).