Analysis: How Marco Rubio could raise the stakes for Cuba if he becomes secretary of state
CNN
Cuba has shaped much of Marco Rubio’s political life. If confirmed as secretary of state, he’s expected to take action on his parents’ homeland.
For more than 60 years Cuba has buckled under US economic sanctions and its own government’s missteps. Life on the communist-run island could soon become even more grueling. One of the Cuban government’s most formidable adversaries, Sen. Marco Rubio is set to become secretary of state under Donald Trump, something that does not bode well for the already flatlining Cuban economy. The son of Cuban exiles, Rubio has long made it his mission to ramp up the US trade embargo on Cuba. If confirmed, as is widely expected, Rubio will be perfectly situated to further tighten the screws on Cuba perhaps to the island’s breaking point. “He has reached the pinnacle of power and position in the US government that he has never held before and he is going to be putting it to Cuba to prove his reputation as an extremist hardliner on Cuba,” said Peter Kornbluh, co-author of “Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Secret Negotiations Between Washington and Havana.” “It could really be the final nail in what is already a very deep grave for Cuba,” Kornbluh told CNN. If confirmed, Secretary of State Rubio will face far more pressing issues like Russia’s war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and countering growing Chinese influence in the world, particularly in Latin America.
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