Trump Floats Warship Stop Off Cuba, Warns of 'Another Little Epic Fury' as Rubio Presses Havana

At a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, someone in the crowd shouted a question about Cuba, and President Donald Trump answered it with a plan. Warships heading home from the war with Iran, he said, would pass the island. One of them would stop about 50 yards off the coast. "They'll raise up their hands," he said, and then Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be sent in to finish the deal.

The remark came during a 90-minute speech, days before the US midterm elections. Voters are dealing with rising prices for essentials, including fuel and groceries, while the war with Iran continues. Trump also left force on the table if talks stall. "We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree," he said. Turning to the other side of the table, he added that if they were smart they would get down to business, though he doubted they would, because "perhaps they're not smart."

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez answered on X. He wrote that Cuba rejects every threat tied to US ambitions toward the island, and he put it in terms of geography: the coastline has beautiful beaches, but also razor-sharp limestone spikes, an inhospitable setting for anyone who arrives with hostile purposes and a lust for domination.

Shortly after the speech, Rubio posted his own message. "Now is the time," he wrote, addressing those who want positive change in Cuba. He cited failed promises, corruption and the privileged lives of a few, and urged them to seize the moment through "a discreet partnership with the CIA."

The hard line is not new. In May, Trump and Rubio both renewed the possibility of US military intervention, and tensions rose after the administration announced criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office then that previous presidents had considered intervening for decades, adding that "it looks like I'll be the one that does it." Rubio has argued that Cuba is a national security threat because of its ties to countries hostile to the United States. He says Washington wants a peaceful resolution but has doubted a deal is possible with the current leadership. In a September 29 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, he said Cuba "has already fallen," with no functional economy, run by people preaching a revolution that has been dead for 20 years. He said the US would never allow Cuba to become a base of operations against American interests.

Meanwhile, diplomacy has continued alongside the rhetoric. US and Cuban officials have met in recent months to explore improving relations, and Rubio has taken part. Washington has voiced dissatisfaction with the talks and imposed further sanctions on the Cuban government. Last month at the UN General Assembly, Trump said Rubio was "deep into negotiations with Cuba" and that he would not allow a haven for foreign adversaries on America's doorstep. Days later he said he expected a deal, adding, "I don't think we'll need the military. Cuba is failing very badly." This week the two countries clashed again at the United Nations, after the administration sought to rally opposition to the annual resolution condemning the decades-old US embargo.

Behind the exchange is a prolonged crisis. Since 2020, Cuba's economy has contracted, and its roughly 10 million people have faced widespread power cuts, food shortages and rising prices. The hardship has produced repeated waves of protest and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, many of them to the United States.

What to watch is whether the talks advance or whether sanctions and military signaling escalate, with the election days away and Cuba's crisis unresolved.