6 Lies Trump and Rubio Are Telling You About the “Cuban Threat”

"We already said it, but maybe we need to say it again. Cuba is not a threat to U.S. national security! Period. U.S. officials, experts, even a former FOX News host said it," said Liz Oliva Fernández, journalist with Belly of the Beast.

"Let's not pretend Cuba is about to attack us, that is an insult to our intelligence," said Megyn Kelly, former FOX News host, in archival footage.

"Exactly! And yet Marco Rubio keeps saying it is," Oliva Fernández said.

"Cuba has always posed a national security threat to the United States," said Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, in archival footage.

"Rubio keeps saying Cuba's a threat to justify everything the U.S. is doing to Cuba, an oil blockade, sanctions," the journalist said.

"So why exactly does Cuba represent a national security threat to the most powerful country in the world? It seems like they're coming up with something new every day. Here are six reasons why people in the U.S. should be afraid of Cuba, according to Marco Rubio," Oliva Fernández said.

"So Axios recently published a report claiming Cuba had 300 drones and could use them to attack Florida, Guantánamo Base and U.S. warships. Buried at the bottom of the same article is the real story: 'U.S. officials themselves admit Cuba is not an imminent threat and is not planning attacks against the United States,'" she continued.

"That hasn't stopped Florida politicians from using the Axios report to call for war," Oliva Fernández added.

"Even if these 300 drones exist, are they a real threat to the national security of the United States?" the journalist asked.

"Cuba produces no security threat to the United States. In terms of Cuba attacking first, it's absurd," said Hal Klepak, military historian and former NATO analyst, in archival footage.

"Cuba has never attacked the United States. Not before 1959, and not since. What Caribbean island would dare attack the world's greatest military power? We aren't out of our minds, and we certainly are not on a suicide mission," Oliva Fernández said.

"China and Russia have spy bases in Cuba. If there are any, nobody in Cuba seems to have seen or heard of them," she continued.

"There's no evidence that the Chinese are present there," said Fulton Armstrong, former CIA analyst, in archival footage.

"A military unit? Yes, just up ahead," a passerby said during a vox pop. "What have you seen there? Russian military, maybe?"

"No, no, it's a military unit," another passerby replied.

"But from where?" the reporter asked.

"From here, Cuba," the passerby answered.

"Honestly though, who's spying on whom? Since early February, the U.S. military has been flying manned aircraft and surveillance drones all around Cuba, just 40 miles off the coast of the island," Oliva Fernández said.

"Number 3: Cuba sponsors terrorism. What evidence is there that Cuba sponsors terrorism?" she asked.

"Well, the regime has a long track record of egregious human rights abuses, suppression of a free press, suppression of civil society, and other key factors that continue to keep them on that list. But you can give examples of terrorism, because that's human rights abuse," a U.S. congressional witness said in archival footage.

"That was under Biden. Three years later, Cuba is still on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List. And the U.S. has still been unable to offer any credible evidence Cuba sponsors terrorism," the journalist said.

"This is a new one. We know that Cuba has been friendly towards Hamas and Hezbollah," Rubio said in a separate archival clip.

"Apparently, Hamas and Hezbollah are operating in Cuba," Oliva Fernández said.

"That's a lie. There is no Hezbollah or Hamas here in Cuba. The vast majority of Palestinians in Cuba are medical students," said Jenen Hani Alean Alzwaraa, Palestinian medical student, in archival footage.

"Almost 3 decades ago, Cuba funded The Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) with the goal of training doctors from around the globe. Since its founding, ELAM has graduated more than 30,000 doctors from more than 120 countries, including the United States and Palestine," Oliva Fernández said.

"Number 5 and this one may be the scariest of them all: Cuba exports communism. What Cuba actually exports to the world are doctors, hundreds of thousands, mostly to Global South countries, to communities that otherwise would not have access to care. So yes, the 'threat' is real. If you're not careful, Cuba might just threaten your national security with free healthcare," she said.

"So why go to the trouble of making up all these fake threats? Donald Trump mentioned every single one of these in his January 29 executive order, to justify imposing an oil blockade on Cuba," Oliva Fernández continued.

"Oil blockade on Cuba. There's no oil blockade on Cuba per se," Rubio said in a third archival clip.

"What? What? What? So you fabricate a bunch of supposed threats to justify an oil blockade on Cuba and then you say there is no oil blockade?" the journalist said.

"In Cuba, the U.S. is moving to cut out the country's oil supply. No foreign fuel. U.S. oil blockade. U.S. blockade. Blockade of oil tankers. A total fuel blockade," she said, citing media headlines.

"The truth is there is an oil blockade. Venezuela stopped sending oil. Mexico stopped sending oil. Even Russian oil is getting blocked," Oliva Fernández said.

"In the last four months, only one oil tanker, from Russia, has reached Cuba. Gasoline costs $35 a gallon on the black market, buses stopped running, trash isn't getting picked up, universities send students home and blackouts can last for days. The UN has called it 'energy starvation,'" she continued.

"We are very worried with the humanitarian situation in Cuba," said António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, in archival footage.

"So in the middle of this crisis caused by the U.S., the CIA director himself came to Havana. The strategy's simple: Tighten the pressure. Deepen the desperation. And then negotiate from a position of maximum leverage," Oliva Fernández said.

"Cuba is at the end of the line. They have no money. They have no oil. They want to make a deal so badly. You have no idea," said Donald Trump, President of the United States, in archival footage.

"Now there is a new threat to the United States: an elderly man who is hard of hearing," the journalist said.

"Time to get to the indictment of the former Cuban president Raúl Castro. On murder and conspiracy charges," a news anchor said in archival footage.

"Same thing that happened to Maduro should happen to Raúl Castro," said Rick Scott, Florida senator, in archival footage.

"The U.S. accused Maduro of 'narcoterrorism.' That wasn't going to work for 94-year-old Raúl. So instead, they accused him of shooting down two planes that killed four people...three decades ago," Oliva Fernández said.

"The planes belonged to a political group called Brothers to the Rescue. For two years, Brothers to the Rescue had been illegally flying over Cuban airspace, even dropping leaflets over Havana. Cuba repeatedly asked the U.S. to stop the flights, but nothing was done," she continued.

"The leader of the group, José Basulto, once fired a cannon at a hotel in Havana from a boat. He openly said he was a U.S.-trained terrorist. Imagine how the U.S. would react if a former member of Al Qaeda started flying over Washington, D.C., dropping flyers calling for Trump's overthrow?" Oliva Fernández said.

"Just a quick reminder: The Trump administration has bombed about 60 boats and killed more than 200 people since September 2025 in the Caribbean and the Pacific sea. Operation Southern Spear claims to target 'narco-traffickers' and 'terrorist organizations,' without presenting evidence," she added.

"Here's the kicker," the journalist said.

"Now we're saying, here's $100 million of humanitarian aid. So I don't know if they watch your broadcast in Cuba, but if they are, the Cuban people should know. There's $100 million of food and medicine available for them right now," Rubio said in a fourth archival clip.

"It's hard to keep a straight face. So you destroy Cuba's economy, stop Cuba from getting oil, drive the island into a humanitarian crisis, threaten a military attack...and now you want to help people here?" Oliva Fernández said.

"To put that $100 million in perspective, the Cuban government estimates U.S. sanctions cost the economy $5 billion and that was before the oil blockade. Cuba said it would always accept humanitarian aid, but with Trump and Rubio, no offer is without strings attached. Drop Site reported that the aid was conditioned to Cuba accepting the distribution of millions of Starlink devices. I hope that they come with batteries included, because we don't have enough electricity to make them work," she said.

"Want the full story? Follow Belly of the Beast for the reporting you won't find anywhere else," Oliva Fernández concluded.