The Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect (ACERE) is deeply concerned and disappointed by President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate Senator Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State. Senator Rubio’s well-documented track record of torpedoing any attempt at constructive engagement with Cuba has undermined U.S. national security interests and infringed upon the rights of U.S. and Cuban citizens.
The policy of “maximum pressure” against Cuba that Senator Rubio claimed to have “directly designed” –and the Biden administration has mostly maintained– directly contradicts U.S. interests, as the objective of regime collapse in Havana would likely result in a renewed surge of irregular migration to the U.S. and unleash heightened levels of criminal activity just miles from U.S. shores. Supporting indiscriminate, counterproductive measures against Cuba will only worsen the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis on the island, fuel desperation, stifle economic opportunity, cede more space to U.S. adversaries like Russia, China and Iran, and further undermine the U.S. fight against terrorism.
Senator Rubio proudly emphasizes his role in crafting and leading on Trump administration measures that formed the basis of the “maximum pressure” campaign, which included the creation of the State Department’s Restricted Entities and Prohibited Accommodations Lists, the de-facto closure of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the elimination of individual and people-to-people travel to the island and the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, among many other measures. Trump officials recognize that this campaign has had catastrophic effects on Cuba’s economy, disrupting crucial remittance flows and crippling small businesses in Cuba’s independent private sector. Contrary to U.S. interests, these policies resulted in the biggest wave of Cuban emigration ever recorded, and the island’s strengthened ties with Russia and China.
The appointment of Senator Rubio as the country’s top diplomat would be particularly concerning given his markedly uncompromising and undiplomatic approach to Cuba policy. Rubio’s legislative agenda on Cuba –including the DEMOCRACIA Act, the FORCE Act, the PATRIA Y VIDA Act and the No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act, among others– is framed as a struggle to support democracy, human rights and internet freedom on the island. In reality, his bills will do little to advance their stated objectives and most likely worsen average Cubans’ livelihoods by imposing sweeping economic sanctions that disproportionately impact the most vulnerable in Cuban society. Rubio’s proposals would further enfeeble the island’s fragile economy, stymie private investment and enterprise, and harm working families by further limiting access to essential goods and services, while restricting Americans’ freedoms.
Senator Rubio’s position on Cuba also goes against the will expressed by most U.S. voters in favor of reducing waste and inefficiencies in the federal government. Rubio steadfastly supports boosting federal funds for the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio/TV Martí), despite its consistently limited penetration in the Cuban media market. He also favors sustaining a bloated regulatory bureaucracy at the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to enforce outdated restrictions on Cuban-American travel and third-country commerce with Cuba.
ACERE urges the incoming Trump administration to recognize that embracing Senator Rubio’s maximalist position on Cuba debilitates, rather than encourages, meaningful human rights, democratic and private sector reforms on the island. Instead, these policies will continue to fuel a severe migration crisis, as hundreds of thousands of Cubans undertake dangerous journeys by land and sea seeking economic opportunities and stability in the United States. A common-sense, humanitarian approach to Cuba policy – focused on dialogue and negotiations that advance U.S. interests rather than isolation and punishment that reward U.S. adversaries – must promote U.S. citizens’ rights and freedoms to travel to and trade with Cuba in order to help tangibly improve the lives of Cubans living on the island, as well as foster the competitiveness and influence of U.S. products and ideas in the Cuban market.
Appointing Senator Rubio as Secretary of State could unilaterally threaten mutually beneficial cooperation between the United States and Cuba on migration, law enforcement, counterterrorism, public health, natural disasters and other key issues that saw bilateral contact, albeit limited, during Trump’s first term. For these reasons, ACERE calls on members of the United States Senate to carefully consider their votes during Rubio’s confirmation process and work more broadly toward diplomatic solutions with Cuba that prioritize the well-being of U.S. and Cuban families through the ongoing development of the island’s private sector, bilateral trade and genuine people-to-people ties.
