US President Donald Trump joked that Secretary of State Marco Rubio should be parachuted into Cuba to “fix“ the situation on the island. He made the comment during a campaign rally in Port Corpus Christi, Texas, where he called Rubio to the stage.
“We're going to parachute him in and he's going to be fine,“ Trump told the audience. His words were met with laughter and applause. No specific operation was announced, nor was there any confirmation that Washington was preparing an actual dispatch of the Secretary of State to Cuba.
Trump reiterates the idea of Rubio and Cuba
This is not the first time the president has used such imagery. On September 22, during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said that in the near future he could leave Rubio “in the middle of Cuba“ to figure out how to resolve the situation.
Four days before the rally in Texas, Trump spoke again about the idea. At an event in Fort Myers, Florida, he said that US warships returning from the Middle East could stop off the Cuban coast and then Rubio could be sent "to close the deal," the Associated Press reported.
According to the agency, Trump presents the comments as part of pressure on Havana, but has not yet outlined a specific diplomatic or military plan related to sending Rubio to the island.
Pressure on Havana intensifies
The remarks come against the backdrop of a tougher policy of the Trump administration towards Cuba. Washington has imposed new sanctions and trade measures, and the president has repeatedly said that the Cuban government must make a significant political change.
Trump presents Rubio as a key figure in relations with Cuba. The Secretary of State is the son of Cuban immigrants and has for years taken a hard line against the communist government in Havana.
At this point, only Trump's statements and the intensification of American pressure have been publicly confirmed. There has been no announcement from the White House about Rubio's decision to travel to Cuba, much less about a plan to parachute him in.
Sources: apnews.com, en.cibercuba.com