Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a rare direct video address to the Cuban people on Wednesday, urging alignment with the Trump administration. Speaking in Spanish, he blamed former leader Raúl Castro and the military conglomerate GAESA for the island's severe electricity and resource shortages. This message coincides with a U.S. indictment against Castro for the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes.

The address highlights the administration's intensified pressure campaign. It follows new sanctions on top Cuban military and party officials. Rubio pointedly dismissed U.S. oil blockades as the cause for daily blackouts, stating Cubans survive 22 hours without power because regime elites plunder resources. The energy crisis deepened after the U.S. seized Venezuelan oil operations, drying up Cuba's primary fuel supply.

This direct appeal marks Rubio's first public outreach to ordinary Cubans, reflecting a strategic shift. The administration links regime change in Venezuela to weakening Cuba's government. By addressing the populace, Rubio seeks to drive a wedge between citizens and the state, framing Trump's policy as offering a new bilateral path. The move escalates efforts to isolate Havana economically and diplomatically.