US Cuba tensions rose Thursday after Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Cuba a national security threat and said chances for a peaceful deal were “not high.”
Rubio said Washington still preferred diplomacy. However, he said President Donald Trump had a duty to protect the United States from threats.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected the claim on X, accusing Rubio of spreading “lies” and trying to provoke military aggression.
Cuba, whose capital is Havana, is in the Caribbean. The island faces fuel shortages, blackouts and food pressure under US sanctions and an effective oil blockade, according to the source text.
The comments came one day after the US charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro over the 1996 shootdown of two planes that killed US nationals. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges in Miami.
Read: Cuba Honors 32 Soldiers Killed in US Attack on Venezuela
Trump called Cuba a “failed country” while speaking in the Oval Office. He said his administration was trying to help Cubans on a humanitarian basis.
Rubio also announced the arrest of Adys Lastres Morera in Florida. He said she was tied to a Cuban military-run conglomerate and would face deportation proceedings.
