The Trump administration's Cuba playbook made its way into major U.S. media outlets this week.
Anonymous U.S. officials detailed intelligence operations, possible military action and the "hunt" for Cuba's next leader.
The articles read less like journalistic scoops than messages Secretary of State Marco Rubio wants delivered, with the reporters serving as couriers. As one anonymous official told Axios about a leak, the administration is simply “letting the regime know we’re watching.”
Also this week:
Long Lines, Not Enough Fuel for Cuba's Taxi Drivers
The Spanish Flotilla That Broke the U.S. Blockade
Cuba Suffers Three Blackouts In 48 Hours
Colombia’s Outgoing President Visits Havana
Anonymous U.S. Official To Cuba: "We're Watching"
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Trump administration’s strategy toward Cuba in no uncertain terms in an interview published by Axios this morning.
"What we're trying to teach them is there are no escape valves," Rubio told Axios. "Every time they create a new mechanism in which they try to get out of the noose, we just close it off."
The language echoes that of Cuban-American hardliner Mauricio Claver-Carone, a close ally of Rubio who was the architect of the "maximum pressure" sanctions that began during Trump's first term.
"We'll apply new measures every week," Claver-Carone said at that time. "They're not going to know what hits them. It will always be a surprise. And when they think they see a light at the end of the tunnel, that light is going to disappear."
Watch this clip in our groundbreaking documentary Uphill on the Hill.
Uphill on the Hill is just one example of how Belly of the Beast has traced the history of the U.S. government's economic war on Cuba, scrutinized the claims used to justify it and reported from the island on the people living with its consequences.
In contrast, Axios's Cuba coverage largely amounts to serving as a vehicle for Rubio and other administration officials to broadcast their message, often through anonymous sources and without providing independent, verifiable evidence. Axios is hardly alone. This type of journalism is standard practice among major U.S. media outlets covering the Trump administration’s Cuba policy.
To cite one example, Politicoreported on Monday that the Trump administration has spent months expanding its intelligence presence in Cuba. One anonymous source told the outlet that the buildup could precede U.S. military action and another named the CIA as the lead agency behind the operation.
Two days later, the New York Timesreported that the CIA has been quietly constructing a secret Cuba task force to sow divisions inside Cuba’s political leadership, according to anonymous "people briefed on the action."
In another article, the newspaperrelied on "administration officials" to suggest that U.S. intelligence agencies were searching for a current or former Cuban official who could take power if Washington succeeds in its regime change efforts.
Meanwhile, the Times still has not retracted its fake news story, also based on D.C. sources, about a Russian spy base in Cuba, which turned out to be a school. Watch our report about the phantom base HERE.
These media outlets treat interviews with U.S. officials as journalistic scoops rather than the Trump administration's strategic communications. As one anonymous senior Trump official told Axios, there's "nothing new" about the Times's CIA task force story beyond "letting the regime know we're watching."
As for Axios, the State Department promoted its most recent story shortly after it was published, a not so subtle sign that when it comes to Cuba, the outlet might as well be a propaganda arm of the Trump administration.
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Long Lines, Not Enough Fuel for Cuba's Taxi Drivers
We recently spent an afternoon in a gas station line outside Havana with taxi drivers who'd been waiting for hours for a rationed amount of gasoline.
"There has never been a fuel crisis this bad," said Lázaro Socarrás, who's been driving a taxi for over a decade.
State-run stations charge $2 a liter, but their stock is limited. The Trump administration has allowed private companies to import fuel. However, they charge $6 a liter — or nearly $23 a gallon.
Often, even when there is fuel, the pumps aren’t working. The morning we visited the long line of taxis, the station had lost power until a generator kicked in.
Even when taxi drivers are able to get fuel, they struggle to find passengers in part because U.S. sanctions have devastated Cuba’s tourism industry.
“They’ve blocked us from being able to work," said Alexis Santos, who's been driving for nearly eight years.
Seven tons of solar panels, batteries and medical supplies crossed the Atlantic this spring — bound for a children's hospital in Cuba that couldn't keep its intensive care unit (ICU) running due to frequent blackouts since the Trump administration imposed an oil blockade.
Open Arms, a non-profit organization from Spain, sailed from Barcelona with aid for Havana's Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital, which treats children with cancer, neurological conditions and severe burns. The hospital has backup generators, but they don’t always start when needed.
When Open Arms reached out to the hospital before the trip, staff sent back a list of what they needed most: solar panels and equipment to give the ICU its own power supply.
Oscar Camps, who founded Open Arms, said the organization bought everything on the list thanks to donations from 4,000 people. A second trip is already being planned.
Cuba suffered three major power grid failures between Saturday evening and Monday morning.
A partial grid collapse on Saturday knocked out electricity across western Cuba. After power was gradually restored Sunday afternoon, the grid collapsed completely late Sunday night — plunging the entire island into darkness.
Though Cuba’s national power company had restored power across many parts of the country on Monday, afternoon thunderstorms disrupted the efforts, leading to yet another blackout.
Monday's national grid failure is the seventh since the Trump administration imposed a fuel blockade on Cuba in late January. The island fell under three nationwide blackouts in eight days last month.
Sanctions imposed on the island by the Trump administration over the past year have restricted Cuba’s access not only to fuel, but also to the financing and foreign currency needed to purchase replacement parts for Cuba’s aging power plants.
With fewer resources available for repairs and maintenance, the grid is increasingly vulnerable to failures. Many Cubans go days without the power needed for refrigeration or running water.
Watch how Cubans are surviving repeated blackouts.
Colombia’s Outgoing President Visits Havana
Colombia’s outgoing President Gustavo Petro visited Cuba last weekend on his final official trip abroad before handing power to Abelardo de la Espriella.
Petro had originally planned to visit Washington and New York, but ultimately chose Havana instead, a country he considers “vital for national sovereignty and the fight for life in the Caribbean."
Before leaving Havana, Petro told reporters he’s asked that the international community stand in solidarity with Cuba and for the United States to focus on building dialogue instead of threatening its neighbors.
The inauguration of De la Espriella yesterday marks a sharp reversal for the country’s relationship with Cuba.
De la Espriella announced days before Petro’s visit that he will sever diplomatic relations with the island when he takes office, part of a broader plan to shutter 29 Colombian embassies and consulates.
Cuba played a major role in helping bring peace to Colombia, hosting the negotiations that produced the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group, ending 52 years of armed conflict that left 220,000 people dead and displaced 7 million more. The island has also mediated peace talks with the ELN, Colombia's last major active rebel group.
Cuba's role in these peace talks was used by the first Trump administration (and later by Biden) to justify labeling it a "state sponsor of terrorism," despite no credible evidence to support the claim.
De la Espriella, who holds U.S. citizenship and is a long-time Miami resident, has drawn vocal support from Cuban-American hardliners in Congress. Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL) celebrated the move to sever ties with Cuba on X, while Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) publicly campaigned for the new president and appeared with him in Barranquilla on election night.
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Boletines en Español | English Newsletters Archives El Departamento de Estado publicó el lunes un informe de 100 páginas en el que acusa a Cuba de haber influido en prácticamente todos los principales movimientos, organizaciones, protestas y activistas progresistas de Estados Unidos durante los últimos 65 años. Los medios de comunicación, incluido Belly of the Beast, también aparecen implicados en el extenso alegato conspirativo, que un miembro del Congreso ha calificado como la cosa más...
English Newsletters Archives | Boletines en Español The State Department released a 100-page report Monday accusing Cuba of influencing virtually every major progressive movement, organization, protest and activist in the United States over the last 65 years. Media outlets, including Belly of the Beast, are also implicated in the vast conspiratorial screed, which one member of Congress has called the “stupidest” thing he’s ever read. Also this week: Ramped Up Sanctions Target Doctors, Ports...
Boletines en Español | English Newsletters Archives Cuatro legisladores demócratas viajaron a Cuba la semana pasada para ver por sí mismos el impacto de la guerra económica de la administración Trump sobre la isla. Regresaron con pruebas directas de sus devastadoras consecuencias, pero ninguna que respaldara las afirmaciones utilizadas por Donald Trump y Marco Rubio para justificar un bloqueo petrolero y las sanciones de máxima presión. La periodista de Belly of the Beast, Liz Oliva...
