Cuba CIA Appeal: SOUTHCOM Chief Urges Cubans to Seize Moment
A U.S. combatant commander has put his name to an intelligence recruitment push aimed at the citizens of another country, and he did it on social media. Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, who leads U.S. Southern Command, wrote on Oct. 24 that "Cuba's future belongs to those who act." The message arrived as the Trump administration keeps the option of force against Havana open while tightening an economic squeeze that has left the island in the dark for long stretches.
The sequence began on Friday, Oct. 23. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X, in a message CBS News reported, that "now is the time" for Cubans seeking change and urged them to pursue it "through a discrete partnership with the CIA." The agency then reposted his message with a Spanish-language version and a video explaining how to make contact. CBS also reported that Trump, at a South Florida rally, said the U.S. would "take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran."
The CIA also published a Spanish-language guide titled "Securely Contacting CIA." According to the Miami Herald, it tells would-be sources to visit an official U.S. facility in person if they can, or otherwise avoid devices and connections tied to their identity or workplace and use a private browser and a VPN based outside Cuba, Russia, Iran or China. The agency says it reviews every message and may not answer.
Donovan's contribution followed on Saturday. SOUTHCOM's official X account posted his statement over the CIA's message: "Cuba's future belongs to those who act. Seize the moment and build the change you want to see." It went on to cite broken promises, corruption and an elite living in luxury. The U.S. Embassy later said its chief of mission, Mike Hammer, met Donovan on Monday, Oct. 26.
The appeals land on a sustained pressure campaign. Task & Purpose reported that an oil blockade has produced widespread blackouts affecting hospitals and infrastructure, and cited the United Nations as saying about 3.5 million people faced water shortages. CBS adds that the U.S. sanctioned the state-run bank BICSA last week, saying it had ties to Iran.
Trump's rally remarks were specific. Task & Purpose and AFP both quote him saying a Navy ship returning from the Iran conflict could stop about 50 yards off Cuba's coast, and that Rubio would then be sent in "to finish up the deal." Task & Purpose also relays earlier CBS reporting that the Pentagon weighed strike options this summer, including air assaults by the 101st Airborne Division, and that the Army Reserve reviewed support units in September for a mission "possibly needed in 90-120 days." Those are reports of planning, not announced operations. It adds that the naval force assembled early this year has shrunk, leaving drones and aircraft in Puerto Rico and Marines with Littoral Combat Force-24 as the main assets nearby, and says it is unclear whether the latest statements signal imminent action.
AFP reported from Havana that Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said the U.S. was "resorting to public recruitment for the CIA," suggesting "desperation or misery within the agency" and comparing the pitch to selling a tube of toothpaste. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez warned that Cuba's coastline is inhospitable to anyone arriving with hostile intentions. AFP also says President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the federal case against former leader Raúl Castro legally unfounded and accused Washington of seeking a pretext for military aggression.
Reporting is consistent on the core quotes, but dating differs. CBS places the CIA video shortly after Rubio's Friday post, the Miami Herald says "over the weekend," and the CIA post quoted on SOUTHCOM's page is dated Oct. 23. CBS says Trump spoke in South Florida; AFP and Task & Purpose say only Florida. No account reviewed describes a deployment tied to Donovan's statement.
