Marco Rubio Denies U.S. Urged Cuba To Oust President Miguel Díaz-Canel

The New York Times reported that American officials urged Cuba to oust its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded by denying the claim in a post on X.

Rubio called the article 'false,' as 'many (others) in the media' who, he says, rely on 'charlatans and liars posing as well-informed'.

Al Jazeera

The New York Times said the Trump administration urged Díaz-Canel to be removed without pushing for a complete overthrow of the Communist government, and Rubio did not specify whether he disputed the report in its entirety or only certain parts.

Rubio also said the measures announced the day before by the Cuban government—allowing the Cuban diaspora to invest on the island and to own private businesses—were far from 'sufficient'.

In parallel, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel promised an 'indestructible resistance' on X, charging that the United States has publicly threatened to forcibly overturn Cuba’s constitutional order almost every day.

The dispute over Cuba’s leadership unfolded as the sources described Washington intensifying pressure on the island, including blocking oil deliveries to Cuba.

Le Parisien quoted Díaz-Canel saying the United States is using a 'revolting pretext' tied to the 'harsh restrictions of a weakened economy' and that Washington 'announce plans to seize the country, its resources, property, and even the economy'.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Le Parisien also said Washington exerts maximum pressure by blocking any oil deliveries to the island, and it described the Caribbean island experiencing its sixth widespread power outage in less than a year at the start of the week.

RTL.fr reported that the power grid was restored on Tuesday in Cuba after more than 24 hours of a nationwide outage, and it said many neighborhoods in Havana, where 1.7 million people live, had power restored again.

RTL.fr further stated that Rubio said the measures allowing the Cuban diaspora to invest and to own private companies were far from 'sufficient,' and it quoted him at the White House saying, 'Cuba has an economy that does not function and the political and governmental system is unable to fix it. They therefore need to undertake radical change,'.

The Guardian framed Rubio’s role as part of a campaign that may topple the 67-year-old communist government in Havana, describing the outcome of the Trump administration’s 'maximum pressure' efforts as potentially decisive.

The Guardian quoted Trump telling reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something [about Cuba],” and “And it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”

The Guardian said the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz and its strike group arrived in the southern Caribbean Sea on Thursday as part of a military buildup meant as a show of force against the Cuban government.

The Guardian also reported that Axios, citing administration officials, said Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones and was considering using them to attack a US base at Guantánamo Bay, US ships, or even targets in Florida.

In the same reporting, Rubio told reporters on Thursday that “[Havana] not only has weapons they’ve acquired from Russia and China, but they also host Russian and Chinese intelligence presence in their country,” while Senator Chris Murphy warned about a “crowd of Cuba hawks who have always wanted us to invade.”