Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla dismissed the latest U.S. State Department report on Cuba as a "fallacy" and accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of fabricating a pretext to justify potential military aggression against the island.
Rodríguez's response was shared on his X account shortly after Rubio unveiled a comprehensive 100-page report titled "Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism," detailing nearly seventy years of espionage, ideological subversion, and the exportation of the Cuban revolution to the United States.
"This is part of the Secretary of State's strategy to create a pretext for maintaining his cruel and criminal economic war that punishes every Cuban family, and his ambition to launch a military attack on Cuba, desperately seeking the support of American citizens," Rodríguez stated.
In a subsequent message, the Foreign Minister intensified his critique.
"This is further evidence of the sinister plan crafted by this Florida-based American politician, which only serves the interests of those who have always funded him," Rodríguez declared, seemingly alluding to Rubio and his backing from Cuban exile groups.
The Controversial Washington Report
Rubio presented the document on Monday, asserting that its purpose is to highlight the role that, according to Washington, the Cuban regime has played over the decades.
"For over six decades, the Cuban regime has been the main sponsor of radical leftism and third worldism in the United States. The American public deserves to know," wrote the Secretary of State on X.
The report claims that Cuba has maintained a consistent strategy of espionage, infiltration, and ideological warfare against the United States since the Revolution's triumph.
Among other allegations, it asserts that the island hosts 18 signal intelligence facilities, with three reportedly run by China and two by Russia. It also references reports from The Wall Street Journal about a supposed agreement between Havana and Beijing to establish a new intelligence facility aimed at intercepting communications in the southeastern U.S.
This strategy is traced back to a letter written by Fidel Castro in 1958, where he vowed, "I swore to myself that the Americans would pay dearly for what they were doing. When this war ends, a much broader and greater war will begin for me."
Heightened Verbal Clashes
Bruno Rodríguez's remarks contribute to an ongoing verbal clash between Havana and Washington.
Since May, following acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's announcement of federal charges against Raúl Castro for the 1996 downing of Brothers to the Rescue planes, the Cuban Foreign Minister has repeatedly accused the U.S. administration of preparing for an escalation against the island.
On July 15, he labeled a ministerial conference on terrorism led by Rubio in Washington as "McCarthyist" and accused him of attempting to "reinstate political persecution."
In other statements over recent months, Rodríguez has also warned that any potential U.S. military intervention in Cuba would result in a "bloodbath" with thousands of casualties.
The State Department report concludes with a warning that encapsulates its central thesis: "To mistake Cuba's poverty for its harmlessness is to misunderstand the threat entirely. Its power has always been ideological, subversive, and parasitic."
Understanding the Tensions Between Cuba and the U.S.
What did Bruno Rodríguez accuse Marco Rubio of?
Bruno Rodríguez accused Marco Rubio of fabricating a pretext for military aggression against Cuba by presenting a misleading report on the island.
What is the significance of the report titled "Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism"?
The report, presented by Marco Rubio, is a 100-page document that claims to detail Cuba's espionage and subversive activities over nearly seventy years, aiming to highlight the perceived threat posed by the Cuban regime.
How has the Cuban Foreign Minister reacted to U.S. accusations?
Bruno Rodríguez has strongly criticized the U.S. for its accusations, calling them part of a strategy to justify a potential military intervention and maintaining a harsh economic blockade against Cuba.