cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/42382800

[from the news/video collective Belly Of The Beast]

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged what U.S. policy toward Cuba has required for decades: the embargo will not be lifted without regime change.

Speaking during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S. policy toward Venezuela, Rubio went further than past administrations, stating plainly that the United States would “love to see” a change of government in Cuba and that such an outcome would benefit U.S. interests.

Pressed by Senator Brian Schatz, Rubio clarified that this is not just rhetorical preference. The U.S. embargo, he said, is codified in law under the Helms-Burton Act and explicitly conditions its removal on political change in Havana.

The exchange strips away years of ambiguity surrounding U.S.-Cuba policy. It confirms that sanctions are not tied to specific reforms or negotiations, but to a long-standing strategy of pressure and coercion aimed at reshaping Cuba’s political system.