Staff Reports
Days remain until the curtains finally fall on the Biden-Harris spectacle, yet this administration appears determined to leave its mark on the way out, and not in a good way. Recently, the Biden team decided that Cuba, that lovely tropical paradise of communism and oppression, no longer qualifies as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. This brilliant move was executed via an executive order, just like any good government by fiat should. And wouldn’t you know it? The very next day, Senator Marco Rubio found himself embroiled in a lively discussion about this diplomatic disaster during his confirmation hearing.
In a tête-à-tête with fellow Floridian Senator Rick Scott, Rubio didn’t pull any punches and slammed the Biden administration’s decision. He made it abundantly clear that Cuba actively supports terrorism—not exactly the kind of country someone should be engaging with unless you’re looking to promote a revolution at home. But amidst this rhetoric, Rubio tossed in a glimmer of hope. He reminded all present that this hasty agreement made in the last hours of the Biden era is ultimately as permanent as a sandcastle; it can easily be washed away by the incoming administration.
Senator Marco Rubio on the Biden administration removing sanctions on Cuba and taking it off the state sponsor of terror list:
"Nothing that was agreed to [over the last 12 hours] is irreversible or binding on the new administration." pic.twitter.com/CKWYHdDZZ8
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 15, 2025
Rubio also took the opportunity to highlight the unfortunate status quo in Cuba. With the island nation undergoing a severe collapse—both economically and socially—he pointed out that young Cubans have been escaping faster than the media can sweep that fact under the rug. He explained that rolling blackouts and crumbling infrastructure are standard fare because, surprise, communism doesn’t magically work just because you dress it up with nice words. It’s a reminder that the only thing Marxism nurtures is desperation, not democracy.
Not one to stand idly by, Senator Ted Cruz chimed in during the hearing to label the Biden administration’s actions as reckless and politically motivated, designed to restrain the incoming team. Cruz has made it clear that he views the Cuban government in less-than-flattering terms, and his comment about considering them “evil, Communist bastards” seems to have struck just the right chord. Why sugarcoat the truth when the truth is so entertainingly accurate?
Despite the grim situation, the hopeful words from Rubio rang through: the Biden administration’s moves are not etched in stone but, rather, subject to the winds of change as of the new administration. According to the duo, all these last-minute agreements are essentially a party trick, designed to be unraveled the moment a competent leadership steps in. It seems that notwithstanding the bravado from the outgoing team, the next administration, led by Donald Trump, can easily rewrite this misguided pro-Cuba script. The reassurance is welcomed, even as the world watches and waits for necessary sanctions to be reinstituted, letting Cuba know that there’s still a long way to go before it can play in the big leagues of international relations.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is going out with a whimper rather than a bang, happy to cozy up to regimes while slow-walking their response to an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Striking deals in exchange for the release of political prisoners is just a bit like giving a librarian the keys to the library and saying, “Have fun…sorry about the overdue books.” The imminent doom of treacherous regimes barely gets a mention, but those politically inconvenient truths never stop a good press conference from rolling along. The silence might be deafening, but the outcome promises to be clearer than a sunny day in Havana.
