Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Rubio Declares Cuba 'Fallen' as Nearly 20 Percent Flee Since 2021


(MENAFN) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Monday that Cuba has already collapsed, calling the island a failed state with a broken economy and a dysfunctional government.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Rubio said Cuba's political and economic systems have delivered little of value to its people. He argued the country must undergo a transition toward greater political and economic freedom.

“Well, the truth is Cuba's already fallen,” he said. “It doesn't have a functional economy and it's governed by people who continue to preach about some revolution that has been dead for 20 years.”

Rubio said the Cuban government's political model has failed to produce either a working economy or a working government.

“The problem that Cuba has basically right now is it is a failed state in every sense of the word,” he said. “It's not a functional government and it's not a functional country. It just simply isn't.”

He cited emigration as evidence of the island's economic distress, saying nearly 20% of Cuba's population has left since 2021. He described the exodus as the result of a “complete failure.”

"We're hopeful that Cuba will choose a different path," Rubio said.

Rubio also argued that economic reforms alone would not be enough to change conditions on the island. Political freedoms, he said, would have to come alongside them.

“In fact, you cannot have economic freedom in Cuba if you don't have political freedom first,” he said. “You have to have both happening at least at the same time. That will require a period of transition."

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