Posted on 05/21/2026 7:40:07 PM PDT by madison10
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Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
May 20, 2026
Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a video message to the people of Cuba, reaffirming the unwavering support of the United States for the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom, dignity, and self-determination.
In his remarks, Secretary Rubio addressed the continued suffering endured by the Cuban people after 67 years of tyranny, censorship, and human rights abuses by the illegitimate regime.
A courtesy translation of the Secretary’s video message is below.
Translated Transcript On a day like today, in 1902, the Cuban flag flew for the first time over an independent country. But I know that today, you, who call the island your home, are going through unimaginable hardships. Today I want to share with you the truth about the reason for your suffering. And I want to tell you what we, in the U.S., are offering to help you not only alleviate the current crisis, but also to build a better future.
The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil “blockade” by the U.S. As you know, better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years.
The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.
Thirty years ago, Raúl Castro founded a company called GAESA. This company is owned and operated by the Armed Forces, and has revenues three times greater than your current government’s budget. Today, while you suffer, these businessmen have $18 billion dollars in assets and control 70% of Cuba’s economy. They profit from hotels, construction, banks, stores and even from the money your relatives send you from the U.S. everything, everything passes through their hands. From those remittances they retain a percentage, but from GAESA’s profits nothing reaches you.
Instead of using the money to buy oil, like all other countries in the world, they depended on free oil from Hugo Chávez and Maduro to keep the money. But now that the free oil has stopped coming, they buy fuel for their generators and their vehicles while the people are asked to sacrifice.
Instead of using the money to maintain and modernize the damaged power plants, they use the money to build more hotels for foreigners and to send their relatives to live in luxury in Madrid and even here in the United States.
Today, Cuba is not controlled by any “revolution.” Cuba is controlled by GAESA. A “state within the state” that is accountable to no one and hoards the profits from its businesses for the benefit of a small elite. And the only role played by the so-called “government” is to demand that you continue making “sacrifices” and repressing anyone who dares to complain.
President Trump is offering a new relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. But it must be directly with you, the Cuban people, not with GAESA.
First, we are offering $100 million dollars in food and medicine for you, the people. But they must be distributed directly to the Cuban people by the Catholic Church or other trusted charitable groups. Not stolen by GAESA to sell in one of their stores.
But, the Cuban people are not interested in permanent charity. You want the opportunity to live in your own country the way your relatives live in the U.S. or in other countries of the world.
Today, from media to entertainment, from the private sector to politics, and from music to sports, Cubans have reached the top of virtually ALL industries, in all countries, except one… Cuba.
Today in Cuba, only those close to the GAESA elite or who are part of it can have profitable businesses.
But President Trump is offering a new path between the U.S. and a new Cuba.
A new Cuba where you, the ordinary Cuban, and not just GAESA, can own a gas station or a clothing store, or a restaurant.
A new Cuba where you, and not just GAESA, can open a bank or have a construction company.
A new Cuba where you, and not just the Communist Party of Cuba, can own a television station or a newspaper.
A new Cuba where you can complain about a failing system, without fear of going to jail or being forced to leave your island.
And a new Cuba where you have a real opportunity to choose who governs your country and vote to replace them if they are not doing a good job.
This is not impossible. All of this exists in the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and even just 90 miles away, in Florida. If owning your own business and having the right to vote is possible around Cuba, why is it not possible for you in Cuba?
In the U.S. we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries.
And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.
Spanish....Another asset held by Rubio. His heart is really for the people of Cuba to get out of the ditch that Castro dug for them.
Think of Cuba as a fixer-upper on the market. He buys it, moves into the squalor and calls the shots on the remodel. The US government is the Home Depot.
Once Raul(squatter) is removed Marco moves in, puts all the underemployed to work and leaves his old job behind. He then waits for the value to go up and then sells(moves) into the WH after 10 years of the DeSantis occupancy.
Ha! Marco will be in the WH way before that.
Marco Rubio (in spanish with English captions)
Secretary Rubio Message to the Cuban People on Their Independence Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFFS7os5CCs
Thank you for posting.
This is very important to the Citizens of Cuba and to the United States interest too.
FREEDOM
I would imagine it’s hard for the Cuban authorities to say TOO much bad about Rubio when his family is from Cuba, and he speaks the native language directly to the people.
Can the Cuban people see this video? Do we have a “Radio Free Cuba” for them?
How has East Germany worked out so far?
COPILOT's answer: East Germany’s experience since reunification has been a story of major progress mixed with persistent gaps. In short: Germany is unified politically and legally, but economic, cultural, and identity differences remain significant, even 35 years later. (As always, please confirm political information with trusted sources.)
Massive investment: Germany poured hundreds of billions of euros into the East to rebuild infrastructure, modernize industry, and support communities. Privatization shock: Many former GDR enterprises were privatized or liquidated, causing job losses and long-term economic disruption.
Where things stand today:
Quality of life in the East has improved dramatically.
But GDP per capita remains lower in the East than in the West.
Wages are still ~30% lower in the East. In 2024, full‑time workers in the East earned €13,300 less on average than those in the West.
Bottom line: The East has caught up in infrastructure and living standards, but economic parity has not been achieved.
Even young people born after 1990—who never lived in a divided Germany—still feel the difference.
Young Easterners identify as “Ossis” far more often than Westerners identify as “Wessis.”
Eastern identity remains a strong cultural force, shaping politics, attitudes, and regional pride.
A revival of East German identity (“Ost-Identität”) is reshaping political and economic debates nationwide.
This revival is not just nostalgia (“Ostalgie”); it’s a cross‑generational movement tied to feelings of unequal treatment and lost historical narrative.
Bottom line: Socially and culturally, reunification is still a work in progress.
Eastern Germany today shows:
Different voting patterns than the West
Stronger support for protest parties
Political demands for fairer representation and regional development
These differences stem partly from:
Economic hardship after reunification
Perceived “forced integration” into Western norms
A sense of lost identity and status
Bottom line: Politics in the East and West remain distinct, and identity plays a major role.
Surveys show:
Younger generations tend to view unity more favorably.
They share many values across East and West, though differences in identity and opportunity remain.
Bottom line: The generational divide is narrowing, but not gone.
Has reunification “worked”? Yes—politically and structurally. Germany is one nation with shared institutions, democracy, and mobility.
But socially and economically, the project is still unfinished. The East is better off than ever, yet still not equal, and identity differences remain powerful.
See? not on the radio.
Ah, Albert squirrels vs. Kaibab squirrels — now that is a fantastic natural‑history matchup, and it’s one with real evolutionary drama behind it.
Here’s the clean, sharp breakdown you’re looking for.
Short answer: They’re sister subspecies of the Abert’s squirrel (Sciurus aberti), separated by the Grand Canyon. The Kaibab version is the more visually striking one, but genetically they’re extremely close.
Scientific name: Sciurus aberti aberti Range: Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah Habitat: Ponderosa pine forests Look:
Gray body
Reddish/brown back patch
White belly
Ear tufts (seasonal)
Behavior:
Lives almost entirely in ponderosa pine ecosystems
Eats pine seeds, inner bark, fungi
Builds large stick nests
Status: Common and widespread.
Scientific name: Sciurus aberti kaibabensis Range: ONLY on the Kaibab Plateau, north rim of the Grand Canyon Habitat: High‑elevation ponderosa pine Look:
Snow‑white tail
Black belly
Dark charcoal/black body
Big ear tufts
Behavior:
Same diet and habits as Abert’s
More isolated, smaller population
Considered a “relict” population
Status: More vulnerable due to limited range.
The Grand Canyon acted as a geographic barrier, splitting one ancestral population into two. Over thousands of years:
The southern population became the typical Abert’s squirrel.
The northern isolated population evolved into the Kaibab squirrel, with its dramatic coloration.
This is a textbook example of allopatric speciation in progress — not fully separate species yet, but on the path.
In a straight-up squirrel showdown:
Kaibab squirrel wins for style points — that white tail is iconic.
Abert’s squirrel wins for numbers, range, and adaptability.
Neither is more aggressive or dominant; they’re ecologically identical.
You can literally stand on the South Rim and see Abert’s squirrels… Then drive around to the North Rim and see Kaibab squirrels — two populations that haven’t interbred in thousands of years, separated by a canyon they’ll never cross.
Nature shows what might be in store for Germany...
You’ve explained it in your followup post. Sounds mixed. All I know is Angela Merkel was from the east-made no sense.
Perhaps Rubio can be seen as a long lost prince down there. He has the charm and everyone there is unwashed. Think of a wannabe Camelot nation where the greater ideals kept it going and. Jackie O. invented it after JFK was killed so the legacy didn’t fit the truth but so what?
Bringing Cuba up to western standards would be a full time job for Rubio. He should bring along with him a new contingent of Friedman’s Chicago Boys. It would be awesome.
Plenty of good Cuban-American entrepreneurs are chomping at the bit.
Annoying that he included the Catholic Church in the category of “trusted charitable groups”; Catholic charities have been among the most subversive of all in pumping the flood of illegal immigration into the U.S.; they’re besotted with Marxist activists and are a black stain on the Name of Jesus.
It’s as cringeworthy as G.W. trying to fob off Islam being a “Religion of Peace.”
Utterly fake and gay.
I dunno bout that. Too many will go there to reclaim their property which was stolen so where will the squatters go? Marxists are kleptomaniacs.
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