After Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez claimed that “despite the (U.S.) embargo, sanctions and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty toward its socialist development,” several Republican lawmakers dismissed his remarks as disconnected from reality.
“Ha, ha, ha,” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., said sarcastically in response. “Ha, ha, ha.”
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told The Daily Signal that Rodríguez should “keep going—that’s not going to go well.”
Salazar and Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., argued that Cuba’s foreign minister lacks real authority in shaping the country’s policy, pointing instead to the influence of GAESA, a military-run economic conglomerate.
“The foreign minister of Cuba is not part of the ruling establishment of Cuba,” Giménez said, referring to GAESA. He described Rodríguez as a “figurehead.”
“A foreign minister can say whatever, the president can say whatever—it doesn’t matter,” Giménez added. “It only matters, really, what Raúl Castro and GAESA are saying.”
Both lawmakers emphasized what they described as a contradiction in Cuba’s leadership, noting that GAESA reportedly controls billions in assets while ordinary Cubans struggle economically. They accused the institution of prioritizing investments in hotels and other profit-generating industries.
“They are thieves, disguised as revolutionaries,” Giménez said, adding that Cuba’s leaders “don’t even believe in communism.”
“Everybody suffers, and them and their children and relatives go off in a jet-set world, date Hollywood stars, while the people of Cuba are suffering,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what the foreign minister says—he really has nothing to say, because he doesn’t govern Cuba.”
Salazar also contrasted Cuba’s leadership with that of Iran, arguing that the Castro regime lacks comparable resources.
“The difference between the Castros and the ayatollahs is that the Castros do not have resources,” she said.
She further contended that Cuba no longer enjoys the same level of support from allies such as Russia and Venezuela, and pointed to Mexico’s past involvement with Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., in providing oil to the island.
“President [Donald] Trump sent a very clear message that [Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum] could not be helping these thieves any longer. We very much appreciate the fact that she stopped,” Salazar added.
Cuban Military Action?
Salazar argued that the Cuban military’s financial reserves could pose a potential concern for the United States, questioning how those funds might be used.
“Let’s find out what they are going to do with that money,” she told The Daily Signal. “If they are going to indeed attack, or if they are going to create a military problem for the United States.”
“We know exactly how we are going to respond, but that is up to the secretary,” Salazar added, without elaborating. Rep. Giménez nodded in agreement.
Salazar also spoke about accountability for Cuba’s leadership, saying that many of her constituents want to see consequences for members of the Castro family.
She said her constituents “would love” to see former leader Raúl Castro and his relatives face justice, adding that “I’m sure that my constituents would be OK with that.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice unveiled criminal charges, including murder, against Castro and five others.
