Rubio Demands Cuba Reforms from Munich, Links Crisis to Emigration

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a sharp diplomatic offensive against Cuba’s government from the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2026, directly linking the island’s economic collapse to the migration wave affecting the entire Western Hemisphere.

”They’d rather rule a dying country”

In remarks reported by Bloomberg and the Miami Herald, Rubio left no room for ambiguity:

“The fundamental problem that Cuba has is that it has no economy, and the people in charge of that country do not know how to improve the daily lives of their people without relinquishing power over the sectors they control.”

His most striking line summed up the diagnosis: “They would rather be in charge of a dying country than allow it to prosper.”

A crisis pushing thousands to emigrate

Rubio extended his criticism to the migration sphere, pointing to Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua as the main drivers of hemispheric migration crises. “They are countries whose systems do not function,” he stated, referring to regimes that “create conditions that push thousands of citizens to leave their homes.”

The data backs this connection. According to CNBC, Cuba’s current situation is the most severe since the collapse of the Soviet Union:

• Fuel rationing and closure of tourist establishments
• Four-day work week imposed at state-owned companies
• Shortened school days due to resource shortages
• Air Canada cancelled all flights to Cuba over aviation fuel shortages
• Nicaragua ended visa-free travel for Cubans, cutting a key migration route

The Nicaragua route: closed under pressure

One of the most direct consequences for Cuban migration has been the closure of the Nicaraguan route. Since November 2021, thousands of Cubans flew to Managua visa-free before making the overland journey toward the U.S. southern border.

In February 2026, under Washington’s pressure, Nicaragua cancelled this policy, shutting down one of the most heavily used escape routes for Cubans desperate to flee the crisis.

Reforms or more pressure?

Ric Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group in Washington, noted on X that the reforms Rubio demands are exactly those that “allies of the regime, supporters of engagement with Cuba, Cuba’s own economists, and everyone on the island who can’t afford basic goods have urged for years.”

Rubio highlighted one point of humanitarian contact: aid channeled through the Catholic Church, including hurricane relief assistance, though he acknowledged “that’s not a long-term solution.”

Analysts at Verisk Maplecroft cited by CNBC suggest the odds of a power transition in Cuba are increasing, drawing comparisons to Maduro’s fall in Venezuela weeks earlier.

What this means for Cubans seeking to emigrate

For the thousands of Cubans considering emigration, the picture grows more complex:

1. The overland route through Nicaragua is closed
2. Deportations from the U.S. continue — 170 Cubans were deported on the first flight of 2026
3. ICE is intensifying arrests of Cubans with criminal records
4. The CHNV program remains suspended with no signs of reactivation

Washington’s pressure aims to force the regime into reform, but in the meantime, ordinary Cubans bear the consequences of a collapsed economic system and increasingly restricted migration routes.

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Cuba’s crisis enters a new phase. While diplomats debate in Munich, millions of Cubans face the hardest question: stay or leave — with fewer options for the latter every day.