Marco Rubio on Cuba: The Questions That Went Unanswered
The next day, Rubio answered journalists’ questions at an hour-long news conference.
Most of the conference was focused on Iran and other issues, but Cuba came up several times.
“How come I always get the Cuba questions?” Rubio joked.
While Rubio may field a lot of questions about Cuba, he rarely, if ever, gets a tough one.
Once again, he and the press corps performed the same song and dance that has played out for the last year and a half: reporters lob softball questions, and then Rubio answers with sweeping claims, distortions and outright falsehoods that beg for follow-ups, which of course never come.
Apparently, pressing the secretary of state when he makes a dubious claim is a lot to ask of journalists whose job is, in theory, to do exactly that. So we decided to help by drafting some follow-up questions the Washington press corps can ask Rubio the next time he holds court on Cuba.
Rubio (Sept. 23): “Cuba can do trade and commerce with any country in the world they want to outside the United States.”
If Cuba is free to trade with any country but the United States, why has the administration threatened to punish foreign countries, companies and banks for trading with Cuba?
If Cuba is free to trade with any country, why did Trump authorize tariffs against countries that supply Cuba with oil? And why does Trump's May 1 executive order authorize “secondary sanctions” against any foreign company or person that “operates in the Cuban economy?”
How do you explain the fact that, as reported by the New York Times, thousands of containers filled with food, medicine and other goods bound for Cuba have been stranded throughout the Caribbean because two European shipping companies stopped deliveries to avoid U.S. sanctions?
Rubio (Sept. 23): “There are some [American] companies and individuals and others that would love to be involved in Cuba’s economic future. But right now, that’s not possible; (a) it’s not feasible, because of Helms-Burton, and also because of the lack of certainty about its future.”
“You acknowledge that Helms-Burton makes investment in Cuba ‘not feasible’ for American companies. What effect does Title III—which exposes foreign companies to lawsuits in U.S. courts—have on foreign investment?”
Rubio (Sept. 23): “Our preference always is to deal with these things in a – I don’t want to call it diplomatic, but in a negotiated way, in a political way, in a way in which progress is made through substantial changes to a country that don’t involve the use of military force.”
Why don't you want to call it diplomatic? How is dealing with these things in a "negotiated way" not diplomatic?
President Trump said you are “deep into negotiations with Cuba.” Cuban officials say there are “no negotiations.” Please confirm if you are negotiating or not with Cuba.
If you are negotiating, with whom are you negotiating, what issues are you negotiating and what progress has been made?
Rubio (Sept. 23): “There are some individuals in that regime with whom we can never work because their hands are stained in blood.”
Who are the individuals whose hands are stained in blood and what specifically are you accusing them of doing?
Do these individuals include President Miguel Díaz-Canel?
By what standard do you determine when a leader’s hands are stained with blood?
By your own standard, do you have blood on your own hands for this administration's dropping a bomb on a school in Iran that killed more than 100 children, providing weapons and military support for a genocide in Gaza, and imposing collective punishment on Cuba that has led to a doubling of the infant mortality rate.
Rubio (Sept. 23): “The people that speak on behalf of the [Cuban] government…at least publicly, are quite recalcitrant.”
Who is being recalcitrant and what specifically have they been recalcitrant about?
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, and Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío have all publicly said Cuba wants dialogue and a better relationship with the United States. Do you consider them to be recalcitrant and, if so, how?
Rubio (Sept. 23): “Things are not going to get better in Cuba without them making very substantial changes.”
Cuba just approved 176 economic reforms, including private banks, larger private companies, direct imports and exports by private businesses, and greater access to foreign investment. Do you consider these “substantial changes”?
If not, what specifically are the “substantial changes” Cuba should make?
Is there any “substantial change” the Cuban government can make that would satisfy the administration outside of regime change?
Rubio (May 21): “Cuba has consistently posed a threat to the national security of the United States.”
Can you identify a specific action Cuba has taken against the United States that constitutes a threat to U.S. national security?
Has Cuba threatened to attack the United States? Does it possess the military capability to do so?
What evidence do you have that Hezbollah or Hamas are operating in Cuba?
What evidence do you have that there is a Russian or Chinese spy base in Cuba?