Rubio questions Cuba diplomatic path as Trump raises prospect of military action
Key takeaways
- Trump said US presidents had long considered intervention and suggested he could be the one to pursue it.
- Trump said previous US presidents have considered intervening in Cuba for decades but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”
- “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an environmental event in the Oval Office. “And, it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday renewed suggestions of possible military action against Cuba, a threat amplified by Washington's criminal charges a day earlier against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Trump said US presidents had long considered intervention and suggested he could be the one to pursue it.
By: FRANCE 24 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Force Base on May 21, 2026, in Florida. © Julia Demaree Nikhinson, AFP President Donald Trump and America's top diplomat on Thursday again raised the specter of US military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against the island's former leader, Raúl Castro.
Trump said previous US presidents have considered intervening in Cuba for decades but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”