In a press conference on May 5, Mr. Rubio acted and did what he knows how to do. “He simply lied,” a term aptly used by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla in response to Mr. Rubio’s remarks, who brazenly claimed that there’s no energy blockade imposed by his country against Cuba. It’s like saying fish can sing like sopranos; in short, any comparison to the Secretary’s blunder is fitting.

Mr. Rubio, by the way, was acting as a stand-in for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on May 5th, as she was in labor. If he keeps this up, he’ll be named employee of the month any minute now, in true McDonald’s style, it should be noted.

This state of denial is Mr. Rubio’s long-standing position. A quick review of his stances on the issue of the ruthless US blockade against Cubans can be traced back to his time in the Senate, around 2011, and up to the present day. This nonsense was repeated at least 12 times officially.

Let's see. During his time as a senator, between 2011 and 2024, Mr. Rubio mechanically reiterated that the embargo did not exist no fewer than 10 times: in debates in Florida in 2011 and 2012; on the Senate floor in Washington in 2014; again during his presidential campaign in 2016; on the Univision television network in 2019; in 2021, while speaking about Venezuela, he brought up the issue; and in 2023, he did the same thing.

The arguments used by Mr. Rubio have varied over time, although they always share a common thread: he admits that there’s some kind of collective punishment, but it's meant to subdue Cuban authorities, that it doesn't affect the average Cuban, and that in any case, Cuba can buy whomever it wants, outside the US, even within the US, with cash.

As is readily apparent, Mr. Rubio clearly intends to manipulate his audience, presenting a literal interpretation of the word "blockade," equating it, or limiting it exclusively, to the concept of a naval blockade or a military prohibition of any commercial flow to or from Cuba.

That is precisely what Mr. Rubio would like to do: a naval blockade, with aircraft carriers and other resources on battle readiness. Yes, because his course is a declaration of war, an armed aggression against Cuba. Of course, he hasn't been able to go that far, something he is currently engaged in.

But the worst part is that, as a key architect of the ongoing harassment against Cuba, Mr. Rubio is intimately familiar with the Gordian knot of the blockade, its extraterritorial nature, and the opportunistic use of the dollar's dominance—given its still-predominant role in global trade—to punish anyone who trades with Cuba. He even goes so far as to acknowledge the perfidy inherent in allowing advance cash purchases in the US, knowing full well that no one trades that way, due, among other things, to the increasingly sophisticated web of existing financial controls.

The list of anti-Cuban measures was brilliantly summarized by the Commander-in-Chief, who described the blockade as a kind of economic war, prolonged for decades, imposing an absurd record of punishment on an entire nation, both in its duration and its severity. As they say, it's a case study in the history of empires that attempted to subjugate peoples who refused to be dominated.

And from his office at the State Department, in the Harry S. Truman Building at 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520, Mr. Rubio saw himself with the necessary resources to intensify the siege, convincing President Trump that further isolating Cuba was the way to finally bring down the Revolution, failing to understand that you can never achieve different results by always doing the same thing.

By tiresomely asserting that the blockade doesn't exist, Mr. Rubio is also committing a serious act of indiscipline, because President Trump was just boasting to his supporters in Florida about his hostility toward the Cuban "regime," which he threatened, as is well known.

And more than once, Trump celebrated the imposition of an energy blockade, in no uncertain terms; yes, He used that word, always rejected by Mr. Rubio, who seems to have become outdated in the prevailing rhetoric of the White House, where, as is well known, brutal honesty is practiced.

As part of this kind of bipolarity very much Mr. Rubio-like, another factor also comes into play, one that even as imperial chancellor he cannot or does not know how to deal with. Indeed, the denial of the blockade also responds to a logic of ideological confrontation with the denunciations and the narrative of the Revolution.

Someone should explain to Mr. Rubio that, beyond his personal agenda against the Cubans, he has many other pressing international matters to attend to. But that's not going to work; if he's where he is, it's because his priority is to destroy Cuba.

Once in office, Mr. Rubio was sent to the Vatican to try to mend relations with Pope Leo XIV, vilified by President Trump, and he took the opportunity to try to sweet-talk the religious leader about Cuba. The Pope, who is Pope for a reason, simply demanded that they lift the blockade, shelve the hostility, and start genuine dialogue with the Cuban authorities. Mr. Rubio looked up at the Sistine Chapel and mumbled an amen, like a good Catholic.

His visit to Italy also served to, on the one hand, announce new sanctions—that is, to intensify a blockade he had just moments before claimed didn't exist; he also promised $100 million in aid to Cuba, lamenting that its authorities refused to receive it. "A hundred million times false, a fabrication," reacted the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, evidently hoping to gain some credibility or sympathy from the Cuban population, including those living in the US, who, despite the campaigns, want prosperity for their families, not to be bombed.

On another note, Mr. Rubio seems to be regaining some prominence, acting in a way that is particularly important to President Trump: keeping MAGA supporters entertained about the ongoing war against Iran. As usual, Mr. Rubio contradicted himself, following the president's rushed, almost schizophrenic script, entangled, against his will, in a labyrinth from which he doesn't know how to escape. This is a whole issue that deserves its own separate consideration.

Mr. Rubio will continue to lie, in a kind of contradiction that goes beyond semantics; because as foreign minister he must deny the embargo or try to convince people that preventing fuel from entering a country only affects a nonexistent "elite." But as a representative leader of the Cuban-American mafia, on the contrary, he is obligated to flex his muscles, even ferocity if possible, against the Revolution.

The Cuban foreign minister told the US network ABC that there has been no progress in official talks with the US government, which is understandable, unfortunately, at least while the liar Mr. Rubio remains in his office at the Harry S. Truman Building.

Just in case, it's worth revisiting the Secretary of State's own remarks regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, when he emphasized that only stupid countries don't respond when they are fired upon; at least he understands what his US marines will receive when they invade Cuba, where they can find many things, but not a stupid country.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff