Cuba says the US is desperate after the Trump administration calls on Cubans to collaborate with the CIA

The Cuban regime mocked on Friday (23) the "despair" of the United States, after Washington called on Cubans to collaborate with the CIA, amid intensifying American pressure on the communist island.

“Now the US is resorting to public recruitment for the CIA,” Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío wrote in X. "There must be a lot of desperation or misery within the agency for it to be forced to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste."

The call came from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who invited those who want change in Cuba to contact the intelligence agency. "Take advantage of this opportunity to promote the change you desire through a discreet partnership with the CIA," wrote Washington's head of diplomacy in a post X, without giving details.

Hours earlier, President Donald Trump had said that the US will "fix Cuba" after dealing with Iran and that Rubio will be sent to the island to "finalize the deal." Havana is going through one of the worst in its history.

Last month, the Republican had already stated that the two countries would reach an agreement and that he did not consider military intervention necessary. On other occasions, however, he has said that one of his objectives is to change the Cuban communist regime.

The countries maintain a relationship marked by decades of tension. The US has imposed an economic embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years, and the Trump administration intensified pressure on the island after American forces captured Venezuela's then dictator, Nicolás Maduro, in an operation in January.

Friday's declaration came in a context of social crisis and energy collapse on the island, also an effect of Washington's increased pressure on Havana. At the beginning of the year, the White House imposed a blockade on the supply of oil to Cuba, which worsened the situation, marked by a lack of fuel and frequent blackouts. This situation is intensified by the deterioration of infrastructure in the Latin country.

Faced with the crisis, the island's Foreign Minister stated at the United Nations General Assembly, held last month, that Cuba would remain open to dialogue with Washington.

Trump, in turn, threatened the use of military force in Latin America and the Caribbean in the same assembly. On Friday, he did not detail what the terms of the aforementioned agreement would be nor did he explain how he intends to reconcile the negotiations with his objective of promoting regime change in Cuba.

As President, Trump maintains an ambiguous relationship with Havana, alternating threats and nods to negotiation, as has been customary in his negotiating style. In March, for example, the Republican said he believed he would have "the honor of taking Cuba" and that he could "do whatever he wants" with the island, which he classified as a "bankrupt nation." Two months later, in May, he stated that he believed that a diplomatic agreement was close, regardless of a possible regime change.