Donald Trump Is Spent | Steve Schmidt

August 3, 2026 | Donald Trump's war with Iran continues to deteriorate. Steve Schmidt breaks down Trump's endless lies, foreign policy failures, and why the American people must put a check on his power in the midterms.

Cuba Could Collapse. Here’s What Trump Wants. • FRANCE 24 English

Augist 3, 2026 | After Venezuela and Iran, could Cuba be Donald Trump’s next target?

As the island endures its worst crisis in decades, Washington is hardening its stance and imposing further sanctions.

Is this merely political posturing, or part of a genuine strategy by the US president?

How far are the United States prepared to go?


CORRECTION: Marco Rubio was NOT born in Cuba! Marco Rubio was born in Miami, Florida to Cuban parents, who emigrated to the USA before the Cuban Revolution. “Official naturalisation papers and immigration records confirm that his parents, Mario and Oriales Rubio, were admitted for permanent US residence on May 27, 1956.

Because they left prior to the Revolution, they originally moved to the US as economic immigrants seeking a better life rather than being political refugees escaping communism.

While they emigrated before the Revolution, Marco Rubio has historically maintained that communism ultimately defined their lives. His mother and siblings briefly returned to Cuba in 1961 to see if moving back was viable. After experiencing the realities of Castro's newly established communist regime, they quickly fled back to the United States permanently, preventing them from ever returning home.

Rubio has frequently stated that he will not visit his ancestral homeland while it remains under a communist dictatorship. He vows to only travel there once Cuba is a free and democratic nation.”

NB: “While he has never visited the Republic of Cuba, he did make a single official congressional trip to the island in May 2012. However, this visit was strictly limited to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, which is a sovereign US military installation and completely isolated from the rest of the country.” [Source: Google AI]

Pulitzer Winner Ada Ferrer Explains What Exile Really Means | The Moment Podcast

Jul 22, 2026 | For Ada Ferrer, making sense of the ties between the United States and Cuba has always been personal. Brought to New Jersey as a baby, she became an immigrant before she could even talk, joining what is now a diaspora of over 2.9 million people. Ferrer went on to become one of the country's leading historians of the Caribbean island and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Ferrer joins Jorge and Paola to unpack the latest chapter in the decades-long relationship between the two countries and what the worst-case scenario could be for Cubans. They also discuss her new book, Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter, tracing her own family history from slavery to the pursuit of the American Dream.

Cuba After Castro: The Island in the Crosshairs | Feature Documentary

Premiered Jun 23, 2026 | From directors Abby Martin and Matt Belen, Cuba After Castro delivers the definitive portrait of Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba’s first leader born after the Revolution. Through this unprecedented in-depth interview we see a vision of revolutionary Cuba suppressed in the west: a nation of collective values and defiance in the face of constant threats from the United States.

The film chronicles Diaz-Canel’s formation as an unexpected successor to the Castros — an unassuming organizer molded by the revolutionary process. Confronting a perfect storm of intensified U.S. sanctions, a media war, a devastating pandemic, and historic domestic protests. Díaz-Canel reflects on navigating these existential crises for the nation he has come to lead.

Sadistic And Depraved’ - Journalist Who’s Visited Cuba Describes U.S. Policy

July 23, 2026 | Donald Trump is not just threatening war against Cuba, but his sanctions against the island nation are having severe and deadly consequences. Its power grid is collapsing and Cuba’s most vulnerable are dying.

After a visit from CIA Director John Ratcliffe in May, it is making sweeping economic changes that journalist Abby Martin says could raise inequality.

In the midst of this crisis, Martin became the first U.S. journalist to interview Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel, as part of a provocative documentary entitled ‘Cuba After Castro.’

Martin’s documentary tells the untold story of the Cuban people. “Death is the policy. Mass murder is the policy that has been stated for decades to make the Cuban people suffer and overthrow their government.”

This in-depth conversation on the consequences of U.S. foreign policy goes beyond Cuba, as Mehdi and Martin also discuss her previous documentaries, centered around Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. Mehdi asks Martin about occupied Gaza, Israel, Marco Rubio and MORE. …

L’île de Cuba subit sa troisième coupure électrique générale en moins de dix jours

LE FIGARO: Cuba est soumise à un blocus pétrolier américain, et le réseau électrique subit régulièrement des coupures en raison de la vétusté des équipements et des pénuries de pétrole.

Cuba connaît mardi une nouvelle déconnexion totale de son réseau électrique, la troisième en mois de dix jours sur l'île soumise à un blocus pétrolier américain, a annoncé la compagnie nationale d'électricité.

« À 11h 05 s'est produite une déconnexion totale du système électrique national », privant de courant les 9,6 millions d'habitants du pays, a fait savoir l'Union électrique de Cuba (UNE).

Il s'agit de la troisième coupure générale depuis début juillet et de la cinquième depuis le début de l'année. La cause n'a pas encore été annoncée par les autorités.

Les deux dernières ont eu lieu la semaine dernière. Il avait fallu à chaque fois plus de 24 heures à la compagnie nationale pour rétablir le réseau sur l'ensemble de l'île, même si les très longs délestages persistent en raison de la faible production d'électricité. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mardi 14 juillet 2026

Je ne suis pas un adepte du socialisme, et encore moins du communisme ; mais ce que Donald Trump inflige à Cuba et au peuple cubain, ce peuple qui souffre depuis si longtemps, est non seulement d'une cruauté et d'une acharnement extrêmes, mais constitue une honte absolue. Il est tout aussi honteux de voir les autres dirigeants occidentaux garder un silence total alors que les Cubains doivent endurer tout cela ! — © Mark Alexander

Cuba under Siege, with Ben Norton

Jun 17, 2026 | The US embargo on Cuba has been in place for nearly 70 years and getting tighter by the day, devastating the lives of millions on the island. Ben Norton, founder and editor-in-chief of the Geopolitical Economy Report, has "seen the consequences with his own eyes."

He joins CGTN to break down how the US has weaponized the international financial system by levying sanctions, in violation of international law, to cause "hunger, desperation and overthrow of government."

We Witnessed the Devastating Effects of Trump's Oil Embargo on Cuba

Jun 8, 2026 | Often, the outages last for more than 24 hours, putting life on hold for those affected.

Cuba has endured decades of sanctions and trade restrictions, but the choking off of its oil supply, which comes almost entirely from Venezuela and Mexico, has left the country on the brink.

The Trump administration wants to coerce Cuba into accepting sweeping reforms, making it more aligned with the US and less aligned with countries like Russia.

Last month, John Ratcliffe, the head of the CIA, held a summit with senior Cuban officials, delivering a stark message: Allow real change or face military intervention.

Donald Trump said in March that he thinks he will have the "honour of taking Cuba" and has repeated his threats to topple the Communist government with increasing regularity.

Yet Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, remains intransigent - and ordinary Cubans are paying the price. Petrol is rationed to 20 litres a month per person, but on the black market, if they can find it, Cubans are paying more than £5 a litre for petrol. It means many of the classic 1950s vehicles, which have become a trademark of the tourist industry, lie stranded.



I burst into tears even watching this! This is proof, if proof were indeed needed, that those across the Pond are cruel swine! This is ideological warfare, pure and simple, the price of which innocent, ordinary and extremely poor Cubans have to pay the inordinately HUGE price. Such UNNECESSARY suffering! And stupid Americans believe that Trump is God’s latest prophet! How ridiculous! How thick! How benighted! How dopey can people be?

As far as I am concerned, this very spectacle, this very suffering draws into question whether there is a god at all! Still less an omnipotent one. For verily, if God truly exists, and He is omnipotent, then he must surely be an exceedingly CRUEL God to allow such suffering and misery to be caused by a self-centred, ruthless man He could so easily take home in the twinkling of an eye! — © Mark Alexander

Democracy Now! Hasan Piker on Being Banned from UK, Travelling to Cuba & Supporting Candidates Critical of Israel

Jun 5, 2026 | The British government earlier this week barred left-wing political commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur from entering the UK ahead of several speaking events. The Home Office said it was cancelling their travel permits because "their presence in the U.K. may not be conducive to the public good."

Piker and Uygur, who are related, are both outspoken in their criticism of Israel. While the government did not cite a specific reason for the ban, some lawmakers and pro-Israel groups had accused the two of promoting antisemitism, which they reject.

"I find what the British government did here to be objectionable. I find it to be disgusting. I also find it to be terrifying," Piker tells Democracy Now!_"I think it's a sign that we're … headed down a very different — dare I say, fascist — direction in the Western world."


Democracy Now! can be supported here.

Cuba: A National Crisis | ARTE.tv Documentary

June 3, 2026 | With the kidnapping of Venezuela's President Maduro by the USA, Cuba lost a loyal ally and with it the supply of Venezuelan oil, which covered a good half of its needs - a severe shock for the crisis-ridden island.

Cuba: A National Crisis | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until: 19/04/2029>

Inside Trump’s Fuel Siege on Cuba | The Take

May 28, 2026 | US President Donald Trump is tightening the screws on Cuba, with an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro and military threats that echo Washington’s playbook in Venezuela. But after surviving decades of US pressure, Cuba is preparing. As blackouts spread and tensions rise, is this just political theater, or the beginning of a major confrontation?

Trump Wants to ‘Take Cuba.’ These Cubans Have Thoughts.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: What do Cubans really think about the United States right now? To find out, the filmmaker and comedian Jeff Seal went to Cuba and asked them.

In this Opinion video, Mr. Seal investigates how Trump’s push to “take Cuba” ties into a nearly 70-year campaign against the island’s Communist government. “Americans should feel ashamed,” he argues.

Watch the NYT video here.
Trump is a cruel b*****d! And so is that snake-in-the-grass, Marco Rubio! Just look at Trump’s eyes! They tell you all you need to know about his character, or rather, lack of it. His eyes are as cold as p*** h**** in the snow! And they look like PHITS, too! If any country needs regime change, America does! Soon! Very soon! The sooner, the better! — © Mark Alexander

Humiliated by Iran, the US Wants an Easy Scalp: Keep Your Eyes on Cuba

THE GUARDIAN: The decision to charge Raúl Castro is grimly reminiscent of the run-up to Trump’s military operation in Venezuela. Meanwhile, the Cuban people are suffering needlessly

This screenshot is from this Guardian op-ed. | Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, at a protest against the US indictment of former president Raúl Castro in Havana last week. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
The US war machine has turned its sights on Cuba. Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American secretary of state who has long craved the fall of the island’s communist government, made that clear again last week. While professing a preference for a “negotiated settlement”, he said the chances of a deal were “not high”. A couple of months ago, I saw up close the economic devastation already inflicted by decades of US siege – and, since January, by a crippling oil blockade introduced by Donald Trump.

The US has now charged the country’s former president Raúl Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft over the downing of two planes in 1996. The evidence points increasingly in one direction: it is all grimly reminiscent of the indictment of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, used to justify his kidnapping by US forces.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is leaking intelligence claiming that Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones, supposedly to attack the US base at Guantánamo Bay. “It’s a growing threat,” claimed one anonymous “senior US official”. The idea that, after several decades of tense relations with the US, a drastically weakened Cuba would suddenly launch an attack on the superpower only 90 miles from its shores, inviting overwhelming retribution, is plainly a fantasy. It is a desperate, threadbare homage to the “weapons of mass destruction” pretext used to invade Iraq. » | Owen Jones | Thursday, May 28, 2026

These are some of my thoughts on the unnecessary suffering of the poor, besieged Cubans. All because of a disgraceful, unfeeling president and his not-to-be-trusted side-kick, Marco Rubio.

« Je préfère ne pas être souverain, mais libre » : les Cubains résignés face aux menaces américaines

LE FIGARO : REPORTAGE - Les habitants de l’île communiste semblent à la fois inquiets des conséquences d’une intervention militaire et pressés que leur vie change, quel qu’en soit le prix.

Il se disait ce week-end dans les tréfonds du quartier d’El Cerro, où les parents du secrétaire d’État, Marco Rubio, vivaient chichement dans les années 1950 avant de fuir la dictature de Fulgencio Batista pour Miami, et non le communisme comme leur fils cadet aime souvent à le dire pour séduire la communauté cubano-américaine anti-castriste, qu’une intervention militaire des États-Unis était imminente. « Ça va barder ce week-end. La tension est de plus en plus palpable et elle a atteint un sommet », prédisait aussi un diplomate.

L’invasion ou les bombardements attendus en fin de semaine n’ont pas eu lieu. Cela n’a pas pour autant rassuré les Havanais. L’augmentation des survols d’avions espions Poséidon P8 et de drones près de Guantanamo, où les États-Unis disposent d’une base, mais aussi près de la capitale cubaine, a augmenté les craintes d’une attaque de l’Oncle Sam. L’arrivée de navires de guerre de l’US Navy près des côtes cubaines, dont un groupe aéronaval en début de semaine dernière, ne tranquillise personne. Le plus vieux porte-avions de la marine américaine, l’USS Nimitz, croise depuis quelques jours au large de La Havane. C’est l’une des toutes dernières missions de ce mastodonte de 330 mètres de long, dont la mise au rebut, prévue cette année après 51 ans de service, a été reportée à 2027.

Les Havanais guettent une intervention militaire américaine, sans trop bien savoir à quoi celle-ci ressemblera, résignés, préoccupés, mais peut-être moins qu’ils ne le sont par les contraintes d’un quotidien qui se détériore chaque jour un peu plus. « Cela fait 18 heures que nous n’avons plus d’électricité », déplore Pedro, un retraité havanais du quartier du Vedado. La ville se militarise. Les patrouilles de policiers et les militaires sont plus nombreux, ce qui n’empêche pas les Havanais de manifester le soir en tapant sur des casseroles pour réclamer le retour du courant et exorciser cette chaleur humide, insupportable sans climatisation ni ventilateur dans les foyers. Les manifestants crient aussi bien « Nous avons faim » que « À bas la dictature ». » | Par Hector Lemieux, à La Havane | mardi 26 mai 2026

Réservé aux abonnés

Out of Gas, Cubans Cook With Charcoal and Wood to Survive

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The U.S. oil blockade has left millions without cooking gas. In Santiago de Cuba, the cradle of the Cuban revolution, apartment tower residents resort to charcoal and firewood.

On a recent night, Yusimi Castellano crouched over her squat iron stove, arranging charcoal and gently placing the Styrofoam and the plastic she used as kindling over it. She used a cigarette lighter to start a small fire.

Noxious smoke billowed through her 18th floor apartment, eventually sweeping out toward the former military barracks where the Cuban Revolution is said to have begun and the verdant mountains that wrap around Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second-largest city.

Slowly, the charcoal began to glow. She put a grill made of old coat hangers on top and boiled some spaghetti for her family’s dinner.

“I shouldn’t be cooking with charcoal,” said Ms. Castellano, 58, who has asthma and lately has been short of breath and coughing constantly. “But if I don’t cook, I die.”

Ms. Castellano’s crude cooking methods have become the norm across the complex of five 18-story buildings, each with 120 apartments, where she lives and that were once meant to showcase the revolution’s promise when they opened four decades ago.

Today, some people can’t even afford charcoal, and resort to chopping firewood to cook in their homes. » | Ed Augustin and Lisette Poole González | Photographs by Lisette Poole González | Ed Augustin and Lisette Poole traveled to the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba to document the energy crisis engulfing the island. | Monday, May 25, 2026

This is a BLOODY DISGRACE! What the ORANGE MAN in the White House is doing to those poor people is nothing short of CRIMINAL! All in the name of IDEOLOGICAL WARFARE!

Trump can ponce around in luxury in Mar-a-Lago, and pilfer BILLIONS OF DOLLARS from the state’s coffers to line his own pockets, fill his banks accounts, and puff up his investment portfolios, yet he is happy to put his head on his pillow at night—when he is not writing on Truth Social—and rest, knowing that he is causing these poor people such distress and hardship. What manner of man can Trump be? And what sort of people can Americans be, allowing their leader to persecute innocent people like this, in their name?

The sooner the world turns its back on this regime, the better! This is nothing short of the behaviour of devils. Long live compassion! Long live Cuba! — © Mark Alexander

Trump's Corruption Has a New Target | Steve Schmidt | Reupload

May 21, 2026 | Donald Trump promised no more stupid wars, then started a losing one in Iran. Now Cuba is next, and Steve Schmidt warns that the most incompetent leaders in American history are about to send more Americans into harm's way.

The man behind Trump’s impending Cuba adventure is surely that snake-in-the-grass, otherwise known as Marco Rubio. That man is of Cuban descent, and he has an axe to grind with the country. — © Mark Alexander

« Leur système économique ne fonctionne pas » : les États-Unis se disent « déterminés » à imposer un changement à Cuba

LE FIGARO : Marco Rubio, lui-même d’origine cubaine et farouche opposant au gouvernement communiste, a cependant dit que les États-Unis espéraient éviter le recours à la force et privilégier « une solution diplomatique ».

Le secrétaire d'État américain Marco Rubio a averti jeudi Cuba que les États-Unis étaient « déterminés » à imposer un changement dans l'île communiste, au lendemain de l'inculpation par la justice américaine de l'ex-président cubain Raul Castro. « Leur système économique ne fonctionne pas. Il est défaillant, et on ne peut pas le réparer avec le système politique actuel », a déclaré Marco Rubio aux journalistes depuis sa ville natale de Miami.

« Ce à quoi ils se sont habitués toutes ces années, c'est simplement de gagner du temps et d'attendre que nous nous lassions », a-t-il ajouté. « Ils ne pourront ni faire traîner les choses ni gagner du temps. Nous sommes très sérieux, très déterminés. » Le chef de la diplomatie américaine, lui-même d'origine cubaine et farouche opposant au gouvernement communiste, a cependant dit que les États-Unis espéraient éviter le recours à la force et privilégier « une solution diplomatique ». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | vendredi 22 mai 2026

Je ne suis absolument pas un partisan du communisme, mais affirmer que le système économique cubain ne fonctionne pas est aussi ridicule que stupide. Pour que le système économique cubain puisse fonctionner, il faut le laisser tranquille. Aucun système économique, qu'il soit communiste ou capitaliste, ne peut fonctionner s'il est soumis à des sanctions permanentes et qu'on ne lui laisse aucune chance de se développer. Les déclarations dénonçant le dysfonctionnement du système économique cubain ne sont que des manœuvres de tromperie. La Maison Blanche le sait pertinemment, mais cela sert son discours belliqueux et son intention d'envahir l'île. — © Mark Alexander

Anklage gegen Raúl Castro: China und Russland warnen USA vor Eskalation

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Die Spannungen zwischen den USA und Kuba verschärfen sich weiter. China und Russland stellen sich demonstrativ hinter Havanna, während Donald Trump offen über ein mögliches Eingreifen spricht.

Dieser Screenshot kommt aus diesem Artikel. | Der frühere kubanische Präsident Raúl Castro (94) bei einer Parade zum 1. Mai auf dem Platz der Revolution in Havanna. | © Ramon Espinosa
China und Russland haben die Anklage der USA gegen den früheren kubanischen Präsidenten Raúl Castro als gefährliche Eskalation verurteilt. Peking forderte die die Trump-Regierung auf, Kuba nicht länger mit Sanktionen und juristischen Maßnahmen unter Druck zu setzen. Der Kreml sprach von Methoden, die „an Gewalt grenzen“. Hintergrund ist die Anklage gegen den 94-jährigen Castro wegen des Abschusses zweier ziviler Flugzeuge im Jahr 1996, bei dem vier Menschen starben.

US-Präsident Donald Trump verschärfte den Ton gegenüber Havanna am Donnerstag weiter. „Es sieht so aus, als wäre ich derjenige, der eingreifen wird“, sagte Trump laut AP mit Blick auf Kuba. Einen Tag zuvor hatte er noch erklärt, eine weitere Eskalation sei nicht notwendig. » | Alexander Schmalz | Donnerstag, 21. Mai 2026

LESEN SIE AUCH:

„Es gäbe ein Blutbad“: Kuba warnt USA vor militärischem Angriff: Nach Berichten über ein angebliches kubanisches Drohnenarsenal verschärft sich der Streit zwischen Havanna und Washington. Kubas Präsident Miguel Díaz-Canel warnte die USA vor einem „Blutbad“. »

Steve Schmidt: Trump Lost in Iran. Cuba Is Next.

May 21, 2026 | Donald Trump promised no more stupid wars, then started a losing one in Iran. Now Cuba is next, and Steve Schmidt warns that the most incompetent leaders in American history are about to send more Americans into harm's way.

A tapestry of Trump’s chumps, all with the same thing in common: wet dreams! And the source of their excitement? The domination of the world and the plundering and sequestration of these countries’ assets and wealth.

First came Venezuela, then came Iran, now comes Cuba. Soon will come Greenland. Then, after Greenland, will come Canada. Nowhere on this planet is safe whilst these people are in power. So many dangerous people; so many wet dreams! — © Mark Alexander

Why Cuban Cigars Are So Expensive | So Expensive

Jul 11, 2026 | Cuban cigars hold a reputation as the world's most opulent tobacco product. A box of good quality Habanos can cost thousands of dollars.

Every hand-rolled Cuban cigar goes through about 500 manual tasks from seed to cigar. But over the last 25 years, cigars made in other countries in the Caribbean and Central America have become comparable in quality, consistency, and cost.

Some experts suggest that up to 95% of all Cuban cigars in the US, which hasn't allowed the import of Cuban cigars since the 1962 embargo, are actually counterfeit.

So why are Cuban cigars so desirable? And is that why they're so expensive?