Lawrence Davidson on how the history of the Cuban American lobby, in copying the Israel lobby, has prepared the U.S. secretary of state to carry out Trump’s often unconstitutional and inhumane bidding.

Consortium News

By Lawrence Davidson 
TothePointAnalysis.com

Marco Rubio has turned into one of President Donald Trump’s “go to” guys. Appointed secretary of state at the beginning of Trump’s second term, and recently appointed acting national security adviser, he has proven effective in translating Trumpian goals into policy practices.

It is not that difficult for Rubio because he shares many of those same biases. For instance, a seemingly absolute belief that the Israelis must be supported even as they lay waste to humanitarian principles and international law.

To this end, as secretary of state, Rubio dedicated himself to revamping the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Why? Because, it allegedly “waged vendettas against ‘anti-woke’ leaders in nations such as Poland, Hungary, and Brazil, and [sought to] transform their [the Bureau’s] ‘hatred of Israel’ into concrete policies such as arms embargoes.”

Meanwhile, Rubio has supported Trump’s practice of arresting Palestine supporters and selectively deporting their leaders.

Rubio’s voting record in Congress confirms this attachment to Israel:

1). “Senator Rubio opposed the Iran nuclear deal and supported the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards ‘terrorists’ or their families. He also criticized the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity, and cosponsored legislation that objected to the resolution.”

2). “Senator Rubio opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel. In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.”

3). “Senator Rubio is a cosponsor of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal anti-discrimination laws concerning education programs or activities.”

On the surface Rubio appears to be an opportunistic politician, ultimately indifferent to the rules set by the U.S. Constitution, much less international law. He certainly is ready and able to do Trump’s often unconstitutional and inhumane bidding. But there is much more to the story when it comes to Marco Rubio.

Rubio’s Relevant Background

Rubio was born in 1971 to Cuban exile parents residing in Florida. That means he was born into a community and culture that was overtly opposed to the rule of Fidel Castro and his successors.

One cannot emphasize enough that this was a relatively closed, yet highly organized community, where to challenge the prevailing anti-Castro stance was tantamount to “treason.”

It was also a politically influential community when it came to lobbying the federal government on foreign policy relative to Cuba. For instance, politicians like Rubio pushed for the economic embargo of Cuba without regard to either the increasing poverty of the Cuban people, or the friction this approach caused with U.S. allies involved in trade with Cuba.

Most Cuban Americans who can trace their family’s arrival in the U.S. to a reaction against Castro’s takeover have consistently voted Republican. There is no mystery here. They believed that the Republicans were more consistently anti-Castro than the Democrats, especially after the failed invasion attempt at the Bay of Pigs.

Thus, Rubio’s lifetime affiliation with the Republican Party, both in his career in Florida state politics and during his tenure in Congress, is a sign of cultural conformity.

It also helps explain his ready alliance with Trump who has always sought the support of the American Cuban community (a Trumpian example of “good” immigrants).

But how would this background explain Rubio’s obvious dedication to Israel and the Zionists?

Cuban Americans & the Zionists

In 1981, a Cuban exile and veteran of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Mas Canosa, founded the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). The Foundation was shaped by Canosa’s obsessive hatred of Castro’s Cuban government. Its operating tactics also reflected Canosa’s authoritarian and one-dimensional character.

For instance, as far as CANF was concerned, only the demise of the Castro regime would do. Those suggesting negotiations with the Cuban government  were labeled traitors. Impoverishing the citizens of Cuba to the point where, it was assumed, they would overthrow the regime, was the acceptable and preferred strategy.

Over a relatively short time, CANF’s outlook became the dominant one among, first Miami’s Cuban exile community, then those living in the rest of Florida and beyond.

Yet CANF’s ambitions went beyond the Cuban American public. What the organization ultimately aimed at was the control of American foreign policy toward the nation of Cuba.

According to Mas Canosa, soon after CANF was founded,

“we realized pretty soon that to influence the U.S. political system we must copy … the Jewish model and we became very closely allied with the Jewish lobby … in Washington.”

AIPAC was the source of inspiration and the mentor of the Cuban American lobby. As a consequence, the unquestioned support of Zionism was incorporated into the community ideology promoted by CANF. (For more on this, see my book, Privatizing America’s National Interest, University Press of Kentucky, pp. 76-78.) 

Marco Rubio is a product of that community’s ideology and this helps explain his uncritical support of Israel. In his position as secretary of state, he has repeatedly declared that “Hamas must be eradicated” and the Palestinians “resettled.” And, once that is achieved, Gaza will be ready for a great make-over, the “Gaza Riviera” project. Rubio has told us that “the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again.”

Present disagreements between Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can put Rubio in an awkward position. However, these disagreements are over strategy. Rubio will stay loyal to Trump and he may even express criticism of Netanyahu. But, he will also remain a loyal proponent of material support for Israel.

Rubio is now “the top foreign policy adviser” in the Trump administration. He controls the State Department and also functions as the president’s national security adviser.

He has achieved this status because: 1). The political environment that shaped his life proved compatible with Trump’s overall political ends, and 2). his upbringing shaped him into a reliable agent of a leader (Trump) who broadly reflects the behavior and outlook of the Cuban American hero, Mas Canosa.

Thus, it has been easy for Rubio to meet Trump’s expectations: “loyalty comes first, loyalty to the man, loyalty to the mission.”

The way Trump runs his cabinet, reminds one of the “democratic centralism” that was the governing principle of the early Communists in Russia.

Debate was initially allowed on an issue (one can imagine lots of back and forth among the strange bedfellows backing Trump). But in reality, everyone is trying to sense the direction the leader favors. As that becomes evident, everyone else coalesces around that course of action. At that point all debate ceases and everyone was expected to get in line and cheer.

It is questionable if Trump even listens to the debate. He probably has a preference from the start — whether or not it has any semblance to reality.

The way this sort of “governance” is playing out, Trump only hears an echo of his own voice. This ultimately closed environment will shape the fate of Marco Rubio’s career, as well as Donald Trump. The end product looks to be a real mess both domestically and in terms of foreign policy.

In the end, it is probable that Rubio will return to the backwater of Florida politics where he will merge once more into the myopic and biased community from which he came.

Lawrence Davidson is professor of history emeritus at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. He has been publishing his analyses of topics in U.S. domestic and foreign policy, international and humanitarian law and Israel/Zionist practices and policies since 2010. 

This article is from the author’s site TothePointAnalysis.com.

Cuba’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs reflects on how the US-imposed blockade severely limits Cuba’s ability to advance and develop.

June 13, 2025 by Carlos Fernández de Cossio — People’s Dispatch

Like any developing country, Cuba faces the disadvantages of an international economic order inherited from colonialism and neocolonialism, which perpetuates the subaltern status in the international system of those who suffer from underdevelopment, unequal exchange, and limits on the transfer of technology and capital from developed countries, most of them former colonial metropolises, beneficiaries of the regime of exploitation, plunder, and slavery that this regime represented.

It also experiences the condition of being a country with scarce natural resources.

But what is unique about Cuba, what distinguishes its situation above all other factors, is the fact that it is the target of a ruthless, prolonged, and extremely asymmetric economic war by the United States, the world’s greatest economic, technological, and military power. There is no similar example in the long and disastrous history of the use of unilateral coercive measures for political purposes by developed countries against developing countries. Without acknowledging this fact, any analysis of the Cuban situation is superficial or deliberately biased.

The impact of the US effort to hinder Cuba’s trade relations worldwide is overwhelming. The US ability to impede, obstruct, and sabotage Cuba’s access to sources of financing in any country or region is more effective today than ever before, as is its ability to impede or severely limit Cuba’s access to technology. The intimidation of citizens of more than 40 countries to renounce their right to visit Cuba is absurd and supposedly unacceptable, but effective. Actions to impede the supply of fuel to Cuba are criminal and extremely damaging.

Representatives of the current US administration have acknowledged that their objective is to refine the design of the maximum pressure policy to make it more effective in terms of harm to the Cuban economy and people. They have stated that they will be more creative in identifying and attempting to cut off Cuba’s external sources of income, with the clear objective of collapsing the economy.

Cuba is going through a period of great challenges, represented by instability and economic imbalances. It faces inflation, low purchasing power for a representative segment of the population, and a shortage of essential services such as health, transportation, communications, water supply, community services, and electricity generation, among other realities. The impact on well-being, standard of living, and the satisfaction of needs and aspirations is visible. It is also evident in the morale and feelings of the population.

Before judging the skill, wisdom, or effectiveness of the Cuban government’s economic management by the many who observe us and feel empowered to express an opinion, ask yourself what country would have had the capacity like Cuba to sustain itself, advance social development, achieve justice for all, ensure public peace, and even practice solidarity. Consider what country would have had the capacity like Cuba to confront such a ruthless war under such disadvantaged conditions. The recent shock among many countries at the US government’s tariff measures provides a very faint and comparatively insignificant signal of the damaging effect that that country’s coercive measures can have.

Consider the goals Cuba’s aggressors have set for themselves, what they have pursued since the 1960s with the confidence of achieving their objective, the predictions they have made for more than 60 years, the nature, content, and extraterritorial scope of the economic coercion measures they have applied against our country.

The economic blockade is the fundamental obstacle to Cuba’s economic development and to the progress and well-being of Cubans. There is no factor that can compare in its impact and the damage it causes.

Carlos Fernández de Cossio is the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba 

Carla Gloria Colomé — EL PAÍS USA Edition

New York – JUN 10, 2025

If Marcos can’t leave in the coming days — that is, pack his suitcase, say goodbye to his family, catch a plane at Havana airport, and land in the United States in a matter of minutes — it will be because he obeyed the law. He has waited nine long years to be reunited with his father. He refused to pay a coyote (smuggler), take any migratory route through Central America, arrive in Mexico, and cross the border as an illegal immigrant. Now, that the day of his appointment at the Havana embassy has arrived, Donald Trump has announced that Cuba is one of the 12 countries whose citizens will be restricted from traveling to the United States starting this Monday. Marcos is nervous. His family and friends can’t believe it. No one knows exactly what will happen.

“They’re all devastated. It’s nine years of his life that no longer make sense,” says his friend Mabel Cuesta, a Cuban academic based in Houston, who shared the story with EL PAÍS. “He waited all this time to go through a legal process, just as the U.S. government requires, and the reward for that commitment to legality is to punish him.”

Marcos, 32, whose name has been changed to protect his legal process, went to the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana last Thursday to apply for an F2B visa, which is granted to unmarried sons and daughters over the age of 21. Although the application was approved, the visa has not yet been issued by consular officials. At 12:01 a.m. this Monday, everything changed for Cubans like him— both immigrants and non-immigrants — with B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas. “Now he’s in limbo; he might not be able to travel,” says Cuesta.

These are the consequences of the latest measure taken by the Trump administration to curb the entry of foreigners into the country — just as it had set out to do from its first day in the White House, and as it did during its first term. While in 2017, the travel bans targeted around eight countries, mostly Muslim-majority; now, the ban has been extended to others in Africa and the Middle East, and, in the Americas, to Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela. The Cuban and Venezuelan diasporas — particularly affected since the Republican’s re-election — did not hesitate to support Trump in the November elections.

Regarding Cuba, Trump stated in his recent announcement that it is a state sponsor of terrorism, whose government “does not cooperate or share sufficient law enforcement information with the United States,” has “historically” refused to accept the repatriation of its nationals, and, on top of that, has a 7.69% “overstay rate” for B-1/B-2 visas and an 18.75% rate for F, M, and J visas.

As for Venezuela, Trump offered a similar justification: that the country “lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents;” does not have screening and vetting measures; has “historically” refused to accept back nationals; and has a 9.83% overstay rate for B-1/B-2 visas.

‘I hope the community is feeling this as yet another blow’

The travel restriction on Cubans and Venezuelans comes after the suspension of humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which had granted them certain benefits in the United States. Little by little, the U.S. government has stripped them of work permits, legal protections, and any form of assistance they previously had access to.

Cathy Camionero, a 54-year-old Venezuelan living in Virginia, believes that more than a measure to ensure “national security,” as Trump claims, this is a “racist action, meant to segregate and justify measures that don’t respect due process,” she says.

Camionero says that many, like her, won’t be able to welcome visiting relatives from Venezuela this year — relatives who typically attend their children’s graduations. “This is a time of vacations and graduations,” she says. “Many of us in this country wait for our loved ones, our parents, our grandparents, to come and witness the graduations of our children, who grew up here or graduated here. Now they can’t come celebrate with us.”

Still, she’s not surprised by this measure, because her community has been among the most battered since Trump came to power. “One day he takes one thing from us, the next day something else. He wants to deport Venezuelans without negotiating due process, yet at the same time he negotiates with [Venezuelan President] Nicolás Maduro. There’s a lot of inconsistency in this government,” she argues.

That’s why some feel this measure — like other anti-immigrant policies from the White House — feels like a betrayal of the communities that voted for Trump, who now feel the president has turned his back on them. Cuesta says it’s “yet another abandonment,” and “another betrayal.”

The Cuban-American community, to which Cuesta belongs, traditionally votes Republican, and “this president, since taking office, has done nothing but continue to marginalize the most vulnerable segments of the Cuban American family — that is, those who are still in Cuba or those who have arrived in recent years.”

“It’s yet another demonstration of how, in this white supremacist order, any alternative subject who demonstrates otherness — and that’s the case in Cuba, even if they don’t want to admit it — will be marginalized and basically put at a disadvantage,” the academic says. “I hope the community is experiencing it for what it is, as another blow to the possibility of reinventing ourselves in exile.”

An ‘arbitrary and profoundly cruel’ measure

The decision to ban and restrict travel from a dozen countries apparently came after an attack by an Egyptian citizen on a group advocating for the release of hostages in Gaza. Although Egypt is not on the list of restricted countries, the incident was enough for Trump to once again lash out at those trying to come to the United States. “We don’t want them,” he said in a video announcing the new measure, which has thrown tourists, regular travelers, students, and family members into uncertainty. As a result, it’s been opposed by several groups and organizations.

“We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens who won’t be able to see their grandparents, aunts, and uncles, no exceptions,” María José Espinosa, a foreign policy expert and executive director of the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA), tells EL PAÍS. “These people have visas valid for five years. They are people with legal documentation, who have come to the country to visit their families or to participate in academic, commercial, and cultural exchanges.”

According to Espinosa, recent history shows that travel bans, such as those implemented under the Trump administration, “have not proven to be effective tools in preventing real threats of terrorism. Rather, they have isolated the United States and weakened its position in the world.” In addition to arguing the measure “arbitrary and profoundly cruel,” the CEDA director goes further, insisting that it is also legally confusing and “promotes chaos.”

“The proclamation states that those who already have visas will be able to keep them. A State Department spokesperson said that even if people already have a visa, they won’t be able to use it while the proclamation is in effect,” she says. “It’s curious that after so many years of preparing this proclamation, the final version is so confusing.”

Indeed, the measure has caused anxiety and confusion among many who were planning to travel to the U.S. soon. Although the announcement states that people with valid visas are exempt from the ban — as are permanent residents, athletes, and Afghan beneficiaries of the Special Immigrant Visa program — no one feels truly safe from the reach of Trump’s order.

“When news like this happens, it’s inevitable to feel concern and unease,” says a young Cuban woman who asked to remain anonymous and is about to start a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. “I’ve always felt that anything could affect my entry into the United States. Nothing guarantees entry, even if you have an approved visa.”

Although she has been concerned about her future since the start of Trump’s second term, she says that now “the atmosphere feels more tense than usual.” “My status as a citizen of one of the countries included on this and other lists puts me in a position of absolute vulnerability and instability,” she insists.

June 11, 2025 — Belly of the Beast

The Richmond City Council passed a resolution calling for an end to the U.S. embargo and the removal of Cuba from the U.S. government’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list. “The embargo creates obstacles,” said Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez. “When in Havana last year, I saw a magnificent city in disrepair, a city that could rival many other cities if it only had the capital to make those repairs…Like the Zionists in Israel, our nation is punishing the people of Cuba for a wrong they did not commit.” Several major U.S. cities have passed similar resolutions, including Boston, Chicago and Washington D.C.

June 11, 2025 — NPR

Heard on All Things Considered By Greg Allen

In Florida, the growing number of immigrants being deported are raising concerns among some of President Trump’s most loyal voters: Cuban-Americans. Before last year’s election, more than two-thirds of Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County told pollsters they supported Trump. But the Trump administration’s recent actions on immigration are drawing criticism from Cuban-Americans and other Hispanics.

At a “ventanita,” a counter-service window at a restaurant in Miami’s Westchester neighborhood, customers gathered this week for Cuban coffee and conversation. Roger Schaefer, a second-generation Cuban-American calls himself “a Trump supporter 100%.” But he’s not comfortable with how the Trump administration is cracking down on people living here without legal status.

“I was on board with deporting any criminal, not so much people who come to work hard—roofers and construction guys. I’m not for deporting people without criminal records,” he said.

In Florida and around the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are detaining and beginning deportation proceedings against people with no criminal violations, in some cases arresting them at required routine check-ins with immigration authorities.

Those stories, which are being widely covered by Spanish and English-language media, are generating a lot of attention and talk in Miami-Dade County. It’s a place where nearly 7 out or 10 people are Hispanic and more than half of the residents came here from another country.

Jorge Pitta, whose parents came from Honduras and Uruguay, says he’s been following the stories and the debate closely.

“It’s rough because I’m Hispanic myself and I see my people being treated like this,” he says. “I’m in agreement with having to deport massively because a lot of illegals did come through. I just don’t like the way it’s being done.”

Like others at the ventanita, Pitta is critical of the protests in Los Angeles. He believes people are siding with immigrants who entered the country illegally over law enforcement authorities. But he’s not happy with the Trump administration’s approach.

“I voted for the guy because I like him,” he says. “I do think Trump also has his mistakes that he needs to address. Foreign policy is one. The way he’s handled this immigration is not good.”

Abel Delgado, who heads Miami-Dade County’s Democratic Hispanic Caucus, says the Trump administration has shocked the South Florida community by deporting people to countries run by authoritarian regimes.

“We didn’t deport people to Cuba on a regular basis before,” Delgado says. “That has changed. We didn’t think it was wise to send people back to Venezuela. Based on all the changes that President Trump is making, he must think that things are perfectly fine in Cuba and Venezuela.”

The concerns about deportations and policies such as the travel ban imposed on Haiti and the partial ban imposed on Cuba and Venezuela, may be denting Trump’s support among Hispanics in Florida, but many are doubtful it will have a lasting impact.

Ninoska Perez, a prominent Cuban-American talk show host in Miami says many who call into her daily radio show believe the immigration crackdown was overdue.

“I think President Trump has a mandate that was given to him is this election saying that he has to protect the borders. And this is one way to do it,” she says.

In the last week, some prominent Cuban-American elected officials have begun to express concerns about the administration’s actions. On social media, Florida Republican state senator Ileana Garcia posted a series of statements criticizing the Trump administration, singling out White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration policy. Garcia, a long-time Trump supporter who founded Latinas for Trump called the deportations -quote- “unacceptable and inhumane.” She didn’t respond to interview requests.

Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, also from Miami, has expressed similar concerns about the crackdown, saying deportations of Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans have left her “heartbroken.” She says she and other Cuban-American members of Congress are meeting this week with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to discuss their concerns about people being deported to these countries.