Trump at South Florida rally revives the idea of military intervention in Cuba after Iran

President Donald Trump told a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday that U.S. warships returning from the Iran war could stop near Cuba, where he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would “finish up the deal.” Trump revived the idea after a rallygoer shouted a question about Cuba, days before midterm elections. Rubio called for action on Cuba in a social media post moments later, urging people seeking change to work through a “discrete partnership with the CIA.” The remarks came as the administration had held talks with Cuban officials but imposed additional sanctions.

Trump said the ships would stop about 50 yards off Cuba’s coast and that people there would “raise up their hands.”

In May, Trump said it looked like he would be the president to intervene in Cuba; Rubio has described Cuba’s ties to U.S. adversaries as a national security threat.

At the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said Rubio was “deep into negotiations with Cuba” and said he expected the countries to make a deal.

The United States and Cuba clashed at the United Nations earlier this week over Washington’s effort to build opposition to an annual vote condemning its economic embargo against Havana.

Cuba’s 10 million residents have faced blackouts, food shortages and inflation amid an economic and energy crisis that has persisted since 2020; hundreds of thousands have migrated, many to the United States.

Published Oct 24, 2026 8:16 am KST

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media after disembarking Air Force One at President Donald J. Trump International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, US, Oct. 23. Reuters-Yonhap

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday told a rally for candidates in South Florida that U.S. warships returning from the Middle East could stop over in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war, his latest suggestion of taking an interventionist approach to the nearby country.

Trump first floated this idea earlier this year, but has not mentioned it in recent months. But he revived it in response to a shouted question from the crowd about the island nation. He was campaigning just days ahead of midterm elections in which voters have expressed concern about the impact the U.S. war on Iran has had on prices of goods from gas to groceries.

“We’ll do a little stopover,” Trump said. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.”

Both Rubio and Trump have been bullish on action in Cuba, with Trump previously suggesting the country would "be next” in terms of intervention abroad, following the winding down of the Iran war he has long forecast but which has not yet happened.

In May, he and Rubio raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that took on greater weight after the administration announced criminal charges against the island’s former leader, Raúl Castro. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that previous U.S. presidents had considered intervening in Cuba for decades but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”

Rubio told reporters separately that Cuba has been a national security threat for years because of its ties to U.S. adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it. While saying the Trump administration wants to resolve differences with Cuba peacefully , Rubio voiced doubts that the U.S. could reach a diplomatic resolution with the island’s current government.

Moments after Trump spoke at the rally, Rubio posted on social media that “now is the time” for action on Cuba, addressing his post “to those who seek to create positive change” and urging them “to seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.”

Rubio has not addressed Cuba in depth in public for several weeks, with his last comments coming in a Sept. 29 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

“The truth is Cuba has already fallen. It doesn’t have a functional economy and it’s governed by people who continue to preach about some revolution that has been dead for 20 years that’s never worked,” Rubio said, without alluding to any CIA operation.

“We are hopeful that Cuba will choose a different path. We are hopeful … that there will be some people in there that open their eyes to the reality of what they’re facing,” he said. “We’re never going to allow Cuba to become a base of operation against American interests or pose a threat to our national security. On that we are abundantly clear.”

Rubio and other top Trump aides have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government.

During his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said Rubio — son of Cuban immigrants, who has long taken a hard line against Cuba’s socialist leadership — was “deep into negotiations with Cuba,” saying he would “not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep.”

Days later, Trump told reporters that he anticipated that the two countries “will make a deal,” adding, “I don’t think we’ll need the military. Cuba is failing very badly.”

Earlier this week, the two countries clashed at the United Nations as the Trump administration sought once again to build opposition for an upcoming annual vote condemning Washington’s decades-long economic embargo against Havana.

Cuba has struggled since 2020 with an economic and energy crisis . Its gross domestic product has shrunk , and its 10 million residents have endured blackouts, food shortages and inflation . There have been waves of protests, and hundreds of thousands of Cubans have migrated, many to the United States.

周五，唐纳德·特朗普总统在佛罗里达州迈尔斯堡的一次集会上表示，从伊朗战争返回的美国军舰可能会在古巴附近停靠，国务卿马可·卢比奥将在那里“完成协议”。此前，一名集会参与者就古巴问题提出了疑问，特朗普随后重提了这一想法，而此时距离中期选举仅剩几天。几分钟后，卢比奥在社交媒体上发文呼吁对古巴采取行动，敦促寻求变革的人们通过与中央情报局建立“秘密伙伴关系”来实现目标。与此同时，美国政府虽然与古巴官员举行了会谈，但随后又对古巴实施了新的制裁。

特朗普说，这些船只将在距离古巴海岸约 50 码的地方停下，那里的人们会“举起双手”。

5月份，特朗普表示他似乎将成为干预古巴事务的总统；卢比奥则将古巴与美国敌对国家的关系描述为国家安全威胁。

上个月在联合国大会上，特朗普表示，卢比奥“正在与古巴进行深入谈判”，并表示他预计两国将达成协议。

本周早些时候，美国和古巴在联合国就华盛顿试图组织反对派反对一项谴责其对哈瓦那实施经济封锁的年度投票发生冲突。

自 2020 年以来，古巴持续的经济和能源危机导致该国 1000 万居民面临停电、食品短缺和通货膨胀；数十万人移居他国，其中许多人移居美国。

发布于2026年10月24日 上午8:16​​（韩国标准时间）

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于10月23日在美国佛罗里达州西棕榈滩唐纳德·J·特朗普国际机场走下空军一号后向媒体发表讲话。（路透社-韩联社）

佛罗里达州迈尔斯堡（美联社）——唐纳德·特朗普总统周五在南佛罗里达州的一次候选人集会上表示，从中东返回的美国军舰在结束伊朗战争返回途中可能会在古巴停留，这是他最新提出的对这个邻国采取干预主义做法的建议。

特朗普今年早些时候首次提出这个想法，但近几个月来一直没有再提及。然而，在回应人群中有人就伊朗问题提出的提问时，他又重新提起了这个想法。当时距离中期选举仅剩几天，选民们对美国对伊朗的战争对从汽油到食品杂货等商品价格的影响表示担忧。

“我们会稍作停留，”特朗普说。“实际上，我们打算从伊朗返回时，先让那些漂亮的船只经过古巴。我们会让其中一艘船在离海岸大约50码的地方停下。他们会举起双手。然后我们会派（国务卿）马可·卢比奥去完成这项协议。”

鲁比奥和特朗普都对在古巴采取行动持乐观态度，特朗普此前曾表示，在伊朗战争结束之后（他长期以来一直预测伊朗战争将会结束，但伊朗战争尚未结束），古巴将是下一个进行海外干预的国家。

今年5月，他和卢比奥再次提出美国军事干预古巴的可能性，这一威胁在政府宣布对古巴前领导人劳尔·卡斯特罗提起刑事诉讼后变得更加严重。特朗普在椭圆形办公室告诉记者，几十年来，之前的美国总统都曾考虑过干预古巴，但“看来这次将由我来做这件事”。

鲁比奥另行告诉记者，古巴多年来一直对美国构成国家安全威胁，因为它与美国的敌对国家保持联系，而特朗普决心解决这个问题。鲁比奥表示，特朗普政府希望和平解决与古巴的分歧，但他同时对美国能否与古巴现政府达成外交解决方案表示怀疑。

特朗普在集会上发表讲话后不久，卢比奥在社交媒体上发帖称“现在是”对古巴采取行动的时候了，他在帖子中向“那些寻求创造积极改变的人”发出呼吁，并敦促他们“抓住这个机会，通过与中央情报局的秘密合作来创造你们想要的改变”。

鲁比奥已经好几周没有在公开场合深入谈论古巴问题了，他最近一次就古巴问题发表评论是在 9 月 29 日接受福克斯新闻主持人肖恩·汉尼提的采访时。

“事实是古巴已经沦陷了。它没有一个运转正常的经济，而且统治者还在鼓吹一场已经死了20年、从未奏效的革命，”鲁比奥说道，但他并未提及任何中央情报局的行动。

“我们希望古巴能选择一条不同的道路。我们希望……那里有些人能认清他们所面临的现实，”他说。“我们绝不会允许古巴成为危害美国利益的行动基地，或对我们的国家安全构成威胁。这一点，我们的立场非常明确。”

近几个月来，卢比奥和其他特朗普高级助手与古巴官员会面，探讨改善两国关系的可能性。但美方对这些会谈并不满意，导致对古巴政府实施了更多制裁。

上个月，特朗普在联合国大会上发表讲话时表示，鲁比奥——古巴移民之子，长期以来对古巴社会主义领导层采取强硬立场——“正在与古巴进行深入谈判”，并表示他“不会允许外国敌对势力的避风港在我们家门口威胁美国”。

几天后，特朗普告诉记者，他预计两国“将达成协议”，并补充说，“我认为我们不需要动用军队。古巴的情况非常糟糕。”

本周早些时候，两国在联合国发生冲突，特朗普政府再次试图在即将举行的年度投票中制造反对声浪，谴责华盛顿对哈瓦那长达数十年的经济封锁。

自2020年以来，古巴一直饱受经济和能源危机的困扰。其国内生产总值大幅萎缩，一千万居民饱受停电、食品短缺和通货膨胀的折磨。抗议活动此起彼伏，数十万古巴人被迫移居他国，其中许多人前往美国。