Marco Rubio poses in front of map of Cuba with US commander as invasion fears soar | World | News
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has posed in front of a map of Cuba alongside a US general as Donald Trump sends his biggest sign yet he intends to invade Cuba soon. Rubio made the symbolic statement on Tuesday as he shook hands with the commander of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), General Francis L. Donovan, alongside a prominent Reference Map of Cuba, during the 2026 Heads of Mission Conference held in Doral, Florida.
The conference is focused on advancing the US National Security Strategy objectives, “including collaborative efforts to counter narcoterrorism and deny adversaries a foothold in our region,” SOUTHCOM stated on X. Running between May 5 and 7, it hosts senior officials from the US government, heads of diplomatic missions from US embassies across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as leaders from the Department of War.
It comes amid Donald Trump‘s recent claims that the US would “take Cuba almost immediately” after concluding the war in Iran, and that “it would be an honour to liberate” the “devastating” island.
Rubio said that the “status quo in Cuba is unacceptable, and we will be addressing it”. In April, he also told Fox News that he hopes “Cuba falls soon” and that “you cannot fix its economy without changing its system of government,” CiberCuba reports.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to issue a new wave of US sanctions on Cuba, targeting officials in the energy, defence, financial or security sectors of Cuba’s economy, as well as those he alleges to have committed “human rights abuses” or corruption.
