U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Cubans seeking political change to pursue it through a “discreet partnership with the CIA,” drawing a rebuke from Havana as the agency outlined a way to share information.
Rubio wrote on X Friday that “now is the time” for Cubans seeking change. He urged them to act through what he called a “discreet partnership with the CIA,” pointing to corruption, unkept promises and privileges enjoyed by a small group. He did not outline how such cooperation would work.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio called Rubio’s message “public recruitment for the CIA” in a post on X.
In a Spanish-language video on X, the CIA told people with potentially relevant information to approach an official U.S. embassy in person, if they could travel there safely.
Al Jazeera said Washington’s pressure on Havana intensified after U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s then-President Nicolas Maduro in January. The outlet reported that a U.S.-imposed oil blockade earlier this year has added to economic hardship, as fuel shortages and infrastructure failures contributed to blackouts. It put the U.S. embargo on Cuba at more than six decades.
The development follows earlier coverage of Rubio’s CIA appeal and U.S. pressure on Cuba.
