Trump floats warship stop near Cuba as Rubio urges CIA cooperation

President Donald Trump suggested at a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, October 23, that a U.S. warship returning from the Iran war could stop near Cuba. Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately urged Cubans seeking political change to work discreetly with the CIA. Neither outlined an operation or a timetable, leaving the remarks as signals of pressure on Cuba rather than an announced U.S. plan.

What Trump said about a stop near Cuba

Responding to a shouted question about Cuba, Trump said ships returning from the Middle East would pass the island and suggested one could stop about 50 yards off its coast, Fortune reported. He said Rubio would then be sent in to ‘finish up the deal.’ Trump did not explain what agreement he meant or indicate whether a military or diplomatic plan had been made, according to Fox News Digital.

Rubio’s public appeal to Cubans

Moments after Trump spoke, Rubio posted a message addressed to people seeking positive change in Cuba, saying ‘now is the time’ and urging them to create that change through a ‘discrete partnership with the CIA,’ Fortune reported. Euronews also reported the appeal. The CIA is the United States’ foreign intelligence service; Rubio did not identify a specific operation or explain what cooperation would involve, Fox News Digital reported.

The two statements came as Washington increased pressure on Cuba’s government, according to The Times of India. Rubio, a former Florida senator and the son of Cuban immigrants, has long pressed for a tougher U.S. approach to Havana and opposed normalization without political reforms, Fox News Digital reported. His social-media appeal made that position unusually direct by asking Cubans themselves to contact the U.S. intelligence agency.

Cuba’s economic and energy crisis has brought blackouts, food shortages and inflation for its roughly 10 million residents, Fortune reported. The outlet also described waves of protests and large-scale migration from the island, much of it to the United States. Those conditions form the backdrop to the administration’s calls for political change, although neither Trump nor Rubio described a concrete next step following Friday’s remarks.