Marco Rubio Shares 2 Powerful Words with American People
President Donald Trump’s energy quarantine against Cuba is meant to bring down the communist government, which is at a breaking point in its fight for survival.
The effects are hitting the 10 million people hard. The U.S. fuel blockade is making an economic crisis that has been going on for decades worse, making it harder to get water and making food and medicine shortages worse.
“There’s a number of epidemics rippling through the population right now, repression is increasing as the regime feels cornered, and they are not signaling any willingness to negotiate with the United States,” said Sebastián Arcos, interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.
“These people are really, really bad guys, and they have shown this capacity to survive difficult crises,” he added. “I don’t think they can survive this one.”
Trump on Friday suggested the U.S. could achieve a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, perhaps mirroring America’s approach to Venezuela, where the military took out its leaders but kept the regime largely in place while demanding greater economic cooperation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in leading the administration’s strategy and is said to be talking to the grandson of Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old de facto leader of the authoritarian government.
Raúl Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, Castro’s grandson, is his bodyguard and is thought to be in charge of GAESA, the conglomerate that runs Cuba’s armed forces and controls a lot of the island’s economy. The Miami Herald said that GAESA had about $18 billion in assets and bank accounts that were not known about in 2024.
The meeting reportedly took place this past week on the sidelines of the regional Caribbean conference Caricom in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Rubio, speaking to reporters, signaled that the Trump administration is not demanding immediate regime change in Havana.
“Cuba needs to change. It needs to change. And it doesn’t have to change all at once,” he told reporters Wednesday.
This comes amid the United States and Israel’s campaign against Iran, which began on Saturday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio notified senior congressional leaders ahead of the joint U.S. Israeli military operation against Iran. Leavitt’s statement, posted to X, came as critics questioned whether President Trump authorized the strikes without the required approval from Congress.
“President Trump monitored the situation overnight at Mar a Lago alongside members of his national security team. The President spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone,” Leavitt wrote.
“Prior to the attacks, Secretary Rubio called all members of the gang of eight to provide congressional notification, and he was able to reach and brief seven of the eight members,” she added.
“The President and his national security team will continue to closely monitor the situation throughout the day.”
Leavitt did not indicate whether Trump would return to Washington or remain at his Florida residence.
The so-called “Gang of Eight” includes the Senate and House majority and minority leaders, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) confirmed that the group had been briefed.
“The Gang of Eight was briefed in detail earlier this week about potential military action against Iran,” Johnson said, according to The Independent.
Under the 1947 National Security Act, Congress must be kept “fully informed” of significant intelligence activities.
However, according to the Harvard Kennedy School, presidents from both parties have interpreted that language to mean that notifying the “Gang of Eight” satisfies the requirement rather than briefing the full intelligence committees.
Leavitt’s comments followed criticism from Rep. Thomas Massie, R Ky., who wrote on X, “Acts of war unauthorized by Congress.”
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D Calif., had planned to force a vote next week that would restrict Trump’s ability to launch strikes on Iran without formal congressional authorization.
As the debate over war powers intensified, Rubio announced Friday that Iran had been designated a state sponsor of wrongful detention.
Rubio said Trump signed an executive order last fall to protect U.S. nationals from wrongful detention abroad and that Congress later enacted the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025.
The statement warned of further measures if Iran “does not stop,” including a potential “geographic travel restriction on the use of US passports to, through, or from Iran.”
part 1
The black duffel bag hit the porch with a heavy thud.
Its zipper burst open.
Everything inside spilled across the wooden boards.
At first, nobody moved.
Then Sheriff Daniels stepped forward.
A black handgun slid across the porch until it stopped against the front step.
His hand instantly went to his holster.
"Nobody move!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
The cameraman zoomed in.
Beside the handgun lay dozens of unopened envelopes.
Every one of them carried military postage.
Every one of them was addressed to:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Parker
The return address read:
Sergeant Emily Parker
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
The dates stretched across four years.
Some envelopes were faded from heat.
Others were still sealed with military tape.
Mrs. Ellis whispered, "Those are her letters..."
Pastor Ray slowly picked one up from the porch.
"It hasn't even been opened."
Another envelope.
Still sealed.
Then another.
Twenty.
Thirty.
More than anyone could count.
Mr. Greer's face turned pale.
"I delivered every one of those."
Nobody answered.
Inside the house came the sound of something crashing.
Emily couldn't breathe.
"I wrote every month."
Her voice barely carried.
"I never missed a birthday... never missed Christmas... never missed Mom's anniversary after her surgery."
She looked toward the windows.
"You never read them?"
Silence.
Sheriff Daniels carefully picked up the pistol using a handkerchief.
"This weapon isn't loaded."
Deputy Harris stepped beside him.
"Serial number's still intact."
Daniels stared.
His expression changed.
"I know this gun."
The deputy frowned.
"What?"
"It was reported stolen."
"When?"
"Almost six years ago."
He looked toward the Parker house.
"By Richard Parker."
The entire crowd turned toward the front door.
Inside, someone shouted.
"No!"
Then another crash.
Mr. Greer suddenly remembered something.
"I have something."
He hurried back to his mail truck.
People watched him disappear into the driver's seat.
A moment later he returned carrying a thick leather folder.
"I wasn't sure I'd ever need this."
He handed it to the sheriff.
Daniels opened it.
Inside were photocopies.
Certified mail receipts.
Postal forwarding forms.
Rejected delivery notices.
Every document carried Richard Parker's signature.
The sheriff flipped page after page.
"Refused."
"Refused."
"Refused."
"Forward to sender."
Again.
Again.
Again.
Mr. Greer's voice trembled.
"Four years ago your parents came to the post office."
"They told us you were dangerous."
"They said if any military mail arrived, they didn't want it."
Emily stared at him.
"They said that?"
He nodded sadly.
"They claimed you'd threatened the family before you went away."
Mrs. Ellis burst into tears.
"Oh my God..."
Pastor Ray slowly removed his glasses.
"I told the congregation to pray for Richard and Linda."
"I thought they were grieving."
Across the street, whispers spread through the neighbors.
"I remember..."
"They said she assaulted someone."
"I heard she'd robbed a store."
"No... they told me she'd attacked her own father."
Every rumor.
Every lie.
Every cruel glance Emily had imagined while overseas...
Suddenly made sense.
She felt her knees weaken.
Mr. Greer caught her before she fell.
"You don't owe these people an apology."
Emily wiped away tears.
"I kept wondering why nobody answered."
She laughed bitterly.
"I thought everyone had forgotten me."
The sheriff continued examining the folder.
Then he stopped.
One document had a different heading.
Application for Declaration of Death in Absentia.
Daniels frowned.
"What is this?"
He read farther.
The filing claimed Emily Parker had been "missing with probable criminal activity."
Attached was a request to transfer ownership of her college trust, vehicle title, and military survivor benefits.
The application carried two signatures.
Richard Parker.
Linda Parker.
The crowd gasped.
"They tried to declare her legally dead?" someone whispered.
"No..."
"They couldn't..."
Emily's head snapped toward the house.
"My college trust?"
Her father had promised that account would always belong to her.
She had worked two jobs through high school because they insisted every dollar mattered.
Now...
Her stomach twisted.
They had tried to erase her completely.
Inside the house, another loud bang echoed.
Deputy Harris looked toward the sheriff.
"They're moving."
Daniels nodded once.
"Cover the back."
Two deputies sprinted around the sides of the property.
The cameraman followed until another officer pushed him back.
Suddenly the upstairs curtains flew open.
Richard Parker appeared for only a second.
His face was drenched with sweat.
He looked directly at Emily.
Not with guilt.
With hatred.
"You should've stayed gone!" he screamed.
Then he disappeared.
Mrs. Parker's terrified voice echoed from somewhere inside.
"Richard, stop!"
Another crash.
Glass shattered.
Deputy Collins shouted from the backyard.
"Sheriff!"
"They're trying to get out!"
The crowd surged toward the sidewalk before officers forced everyone back.
Sheriff Daniels drew a slow breath.
"This isn't about an escaped convict anymore."
He looked at the house.
"This is now a criminal investigation."
Emily stood frozen.
Four years she'd dreamed about coming home.
Four years imagining hugs.
Laughter.
A family dinner.
Instead...
Her own parents had spent those same four years convincing an entire town that she was a criminal.
And judging by the fear inside that house...
The lies were only beginning to unravel.
