Cuba's Bad Day Just Got a Whole Lot Worse

"Regime change? Oh no, I think we would would love to see the regime change," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday while testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations when some Democrat tried to ask him a "gotcha" question about Cuba.

🇺🇸🇨🇺 | AHORA — Marco Rubio sobre Cuba:

+ “¿Se compromete públicamente hoy a descartar un cambio de régimen en Cuba por parte de Estados Unidos?”

- RUBIO: “No. Nos encantaría ver un cambio de régimen allí”.

Me voy a emocionar.pic.twitter.com/skXfMmgnAY
— Agustín Antonetti (@agusantonetti) January 28, 2026

While Rubio wouldn't own up to it — and I'm not sure that "regime change" is the appropriate phrasing — I think it's pretty obvious that a free Cuba is a goal of the Donald Trump administration. I mean, they wouldn't 'fess up to plans to dethrone Nicolás Maduro either, but we knew that was coming for months, and we watched it happen on January 3.

There are rumors that they want it done by the end of the year, but the reality is that it's looking less and less likely that it'll take that long.

We know the Communist Caribbean nation is no longer getting Venezuelan oil, and as I mentioned earlier this week, Mexico, which became Cuba's top oil supplier last year, has suddenly cut off what narco-president Claudia Sheinbaum calls its "humanitarian gesture." Cuba had reached out to Africa, reportedly, but a shipment coming over from Togo to Havana had a sudden change of heart last weekend and switched course for the Dominican Republic.

And as of Thursday, it looks like that isolation is about to get much worse. President trump quietly signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a process to impose tariffs on goods from countries that provide oil to Cuba.

It basically gives Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the authority to take any action necessary to implement these tariffs. The reasoning? Cuba supports hostile actors, terrorism, and regional instability, which endangers U.S. security and foreign policy.

Ironically, or maybe not so much, Trump and Sheinbaum had a 40-minute phone conversation on Thursday, as well. She says they didn't discuss Cuba at all, but it's no secret that the administration and many members of Congress have been putting pressure on her to stop giving the country oil.

On Thursday evening, the president attended a screening of First Lady Melania's Trump new film Melania, and a reporter on the red carpet asked him if he was "trying to choke off Cuba."

Trump said, "The word 'choke off' is awfully tough. Cuba is a failing nation...no, I'm not trying to, but...I think Cuba won't be able to survive."

🚨 ÚLTIMA HORA

Trump: "El régimen de Cuba ha tratado muy mal a su gente... No creo que pueda sobrevivir" pic.twitter.com/MQEuJDmVmw
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) January 30, 2026

But let's face it. That's pretty much a naval blockade short of what the executive order does. These types of moves are coming fast and furious, much like they did in the last month or two before we got Maduro. Not that we're going to swoop in and capture Miguel Díaz-Canel or 94-year-old Raúl Castro or anything like that; I think the goal here is maximum pressure on the regime to get out while they can. There have been suggestions that the administration is trying to get certain members of the "government" to turn against the more defiant higher-ups. But I digress. That's a topic for another day.

The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Cuba only has "about 15 to 20 days" of oil left, based on knowledge of its last shipment, which came from Mexico in early January.

There are also rumors floating around the many international businesses and at least a dozen European and Latin American embassies are planning to evacuate Cuba soon amid the crisis, due to the "rapid collapse of internal conditions" and the potential for it to get much worse in the weeks to come. Some say they fear U.S. military intervention given what happened with Maduro.

According to Ciber Cuba, the British company Unilever is one that has already evacuated its employees. But again, none of this is confirmed by the company or any of the embassies themselves. It's just the word on the street.

We'll see what happens, but it looks like February might be another big month for the Western Hemisphere. I'll be here for it.

This is going to be a huge year for foreign policy as the Trump administration turns its focus to the Western Hemisphere, and I'll be here providing coverage you won't typically find anywhere else as often as I can. You can support our efforts to bring you the news by becoming a PJ Media VIP member.

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