Rubio Accused of Sabotaging US-Cuba Negotiations Behind Trump's Back

A bombshell investigation by Drop Site News, picked up by major international outlets, has exposed a stunning allegation: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is deliberately blocking negotiations between the United States and Cuba, even as President Donald Trump publicly insists a deal is close.

The Phantom Deal

Trump has repeatedly told reporters his administration is “talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens.” But according to five Cuban and US officials who spoke anonymously to Drop Site News, no high-level diplomatic discussions are actually taking place.

A senior White House official told the outlet that Trump makes these claims “because that’s what Marco is telling him.”

Rubio’s alleged strategy is calculated: if both the public and the president believe negotiations are underway, “in a few weeks or months, Rubio will be able to claim that the talks were futile because of Cuban intransigence,” Drop Site reported — giving him cover to push for the regime change he has sought for decades.

Rubio’s Long Game on Cuba

The Secretary of State, whose family emigrated from Cuba before the revolution — not fleeing Castro as he initially claimed — has been one of the most hawkish voices against the Cuban government throughout his political career.

According to Al Jazeera, analysts see three possible endgames for US policy toward Cuba:

1. A genuine deal between both governments
2. Social collapse on the island due to the oil blockade
3. A leadership change Venezuelan-style — keeping the government but installing a more pliable leader

William LeoGrande, a Latin America policy professor at American University, told Al Jazeera that even if such a cooperative figure existed within Cuba’s government, “I don’t think the Trump administration has any way to identify them or to communicate with them.”

Humanitarian Crisis as Backdrop

While this political power struggle plays out in Washington, Cuba faces an unprecedented crisis. Trump’s oil blockade — threatening tariffs on any country supplying fuel to the island — has cut off supplies from Venezuela and Mexico, leaving 11 million Cubans confronting:

• Massive blackouts and fuel shortages
• Transportation collapse across the island
• The Cuban peso at historic lows of 500 per dollar
• Air Canada suspended flights to Cuba due to fuel shortages

President Díaz-Canel has expressed willingness to talk but “without pressure or preconditions,” while developing a defense plan “in case we have to move to a state of war.”

Impact on Cuban Migration

This standoff has direct consequences for the more than 45,000 Cubans with deportation orders in the United States. Without a real diplomatic agreement:

• Deportation flights continue, like the one that returned 170 Cubans this week
• Cubans in ICE detention face increasingly harsh conditions
• Migration routes close as Nicaragua shuts its doors
• The economic crisis pushes more Cubans to attempt the dangerous journey

As the Washington Post noted, Cuban Americans helped deliver the presidency to Trump in 2024. Now, their Cold War immigration privileges are gone, and many with temporary legal status are being pursued by immigration agents.

What Comes Next?

The Drop Site revelations put Rubio in an uncomfortable spotlight. As journalist Ryan Grim observed: “A lie like this would be a defining scandal in any other administration.”

For the Cuban community — both on the island and in the diaspora — the question remains: will there ever be a real dialogue to ease the suffering of millions?