World
Cuban activist to Trump: ‘Make Cuba great again’ by ending communist rule
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As Cuba faces rolling blackouts, food shortages and renewed protests, Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá is warning in an interview to Fox News Digital that the island’s deepening crisis cannot be solved with economic reforms alone and is urging the United States to maintain pressure on the communist government in Havana.
The recent outages and shortages are tied to Cuba’s worsening energy and economic crisis.
A recent nationwide blackout was triggered by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the island’s largest power station, cutting electricity across much of the country, according to Reuters. The crisis has been compounded by fuel shortages after the Trump administration moved to curtail oil shipments to the island, particularly from Venezuela — one of Cuba’s main suppliers.
Cuban officials say U.S. sanctions have worsened the country’s economic difficulties, while repeated power plant failures and an aging electrical grid have left millions facing prolonged blackouts that have fueled growing public frustration and protests.
RUSSIA WARNS AGAINST ‘PROVOCATIVE ACTIONS’ AROUND CUBA AFTER 4 KILLED ONBOARD US-REGISTERED SPEEDBOAT
The state-run company blamed U.S. sanctions in an official statement, saying, “Without ending the financial blockade, there can be no permanent energy stability,” according to CubaHeadlines.
Rosa Maria Paya, daughter of late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, is seen during a tribute to her father’s memory in Santiago, Chile, April 17, 2017. (Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)
The Trump administration has increased pressure on Cuba in recent months, tightening sanctions and targeting oil shipments that help power the island’s energy system. The measures are part of a broader effort to weaken the Cuban government and support democratic change on the island.
“To President Trump, it’s important for you to know that the Cuban people are grateful for what this administration is doing and that we are ready, and we want to make Cuba great again,” Payá said, addressing him directly. “And that means an end to the communist dictatorship, not just a new economy, but a new republic.”
Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the most prominent Cuban–American voices in U.S. politics, long has advocated a tougher stance toward Havana and stronger support for pro-democracy movements on the island.
The Trump administration recently has increased pressure on the Cuban government, including measures targeting oil shipments that help sustain the island’s struggling energy sector.
Trump praised Rubio during a press conference Tuesday and suggested he could play a central role in any potential negotiations with Havana.
“Marco Rubio is doing a great job,” Trump said. “I think he’s going to go down as the greatest secretary of state in history. They trust Marco.”
“We want to work with President Trump and with Secretary Rubio, the opposition is united,” Payá said. “We have a plan. It’s called the Freedom Accord,” she added, referring to a democratic transition framework promoted by opposition groups in Cuba. “We are ready to lead this process. The moment is now, Mr. President.”
Opposition groups have developed the Freedom Accord, a political roadmap for democratic change, which she says would guide a transition away from the current system in Cuba.
Payá, 37, who escaped the country 13 years ago, has spent the past decade advocating internationally for democratic change in Cuba.
She is the daughter of prominent dissident Oswaldo Payá, founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and architect of the Varela Project, a petition campaign in the early 2000s that gathered more than 25,000 signatures demanding free elections and civil liberties in Cuba.
Her father died in 2012 alongside fellow activist Harold Cepero in what Payá describes as an assassination by the Cuban regime. Cuban authorities said the men were killed in a car crash in eastern Cuba, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights later concluded there were “serious indications” that Cuban state agents were involved in the deaths.
“After the Cuban regime assassinated my father … I have been trying to follow his legacy together with many, many other Cubans on the island and in exile that today believe that we have a real chance and freedom,” she said, describing a movement that today includes activists both on the island and in exile.
FLORIDA LAUNCHES PROBE AFTER CUBA KILLS 4 ABOARD US-FLAGGED SPEEDBOAT NEAR KEYS
Members of the “Ladies in White” opposition group march beside the funeral procession of Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba’s best-known dissidents, in Havana, July 24, 2012. (Reuters)
The crisis inside Cuba has reached a level where basic survival has become a daily struggle for many families, according to Payá.
“The situation today is that mothers don’t know if they are going to be able to feed their child tonight,” she said. “Most of the island has been suffering blackouts that last for days on many occasions.”The island has experienced waves of unrest in recent years driven by economic collapse and political repression.
The largest demonstrations against the regime erupted on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the island chanting “freedom” in the biggest protests since the 1959 revolution.
Authorities responded with mass arrests and prison sentences for many demonstrators.
For Payá, those protests reflected something deeper than economic frustration.
“The Cuban people have been fighting for freedom for the last 67 years,” she said. “We are demanding political freedom, not just a new economy.”
Despite comparisons between Cuba’s crisis and the political turmoil in Venezuela, Payá argues the situation in Cuba is fundamentally different.
“Cuba’s situation is quite different,” she said. “This is the longest running communist dictatorship in the Western hemisphere.”
MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION
Cuban exiles block the Palmetto Expressway at Coral Way in support of protesters in Cuba in 2021 in Miami. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)
While she emphasized that Cubans themselves must ultimately drive political change, Payá said international pressure remains essential because of the regime’s ability to repress dissent.
Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions.
Payá said the Cuban opposition hopes the United States will continue supporting democratic change on the island.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Anabel Oliva, 20, speaks outside the University of Havana during a protest against disruptions in classes due to energy and internet shortages, amid U.S. sanctions and an oil blockade that have deepened the country’s crisis, in Havana, Cuba, March 9, 2026. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)
“I believe that President Trump knows very well, better than anyone, the difference between a real deal and a better one,” she said. “He understands that this dictatorship must end.”
“To end the crisis,” she added, “we need to end the regime.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Rubio for comment and has not yet received a reply.
Reuters contributed to this report.
U.S. installations damaged in strikes
Iran has responded to the U.S.-Israeli assault on the country by launching drones and missiles at American targets across the Middle East, hitting embassies, killing U.S. soldiers, and damaging military bases and air defense infrastructure.
The New York Times has identified at least 17 damaged U.S. sites and other installations, several of which have been struck more than once since the war began. Our analysis is based on high-resolution, commercial satellite imagery, verified social media videos and statements by U.S. officials and Iranian state media.
The intensity of the retaliatory strikes has signaled that Iran was more prepared for the war than many in the Trump administration had anticipated, U.S. military officials say.
For this article, we are presenting satellite images to show the scale of the damage from Iran’s attacks on U.S. sites and installations. Many of these images have been circulating publicly on news sites and social media. But in cases where they have not been, we present the imagery we obtained from satellite image companies and show only a zoomed-out view of each location to limit the amount of detail viewable in those images.
Military sites
Iran has fired thousands of missiles and drones at both U.S. and allied country military sites across the region. The United States and its allies have intercepted most of them, U.S. officials say, but at least 11 American military bases or installations have been damaged — nearly half of all such sites in the region.
On Feb. 28, the first day of conflict, Iran targeted several U.S. military facilities, including Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia; Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Buehring Base in Kuwait; and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. base in the Middle East.
Satellite images show extensive damage to buildings and communication infrastructure at several locations.
A video taken on March 1 shows an Iranian drone exploding near sports facilities at Camp Buehring in Kuwait. No casualties were reported.
It is difficult to estimate the full cost of damage inflicted by Iran’s retaliatory strikes. A Pentagon assessment provided to Congress last week put the cost of the single strike on the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain on Feb. 28 at about $200 million, according to a congressional official.
On March 1, an Iranian drone struck a structure housing military personnel at the Shuaiba port in Kuwait, killing six American service members.
Satellite imagery shows the roof of that building partially collapsed.
An additional U.S. service member was killed in a separate Iranian strike on March 1 at a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia, bringing the toll to seven, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
The pace of Iranian attacks has slowed since the war’s opening days, but the strikes have continued. Al Udeid Air Base, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Al Dhafra Air Base, Camp Buehring and the Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters have all been struck more than once.
Missiles launched from Iran have flown as far away as Turkey. On March 4, NATO intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, according to a senior U.S. military official. The base hosts a large U.S. Air Force contingent. Iran’s military denied firing the missile.
A second Iranian missile entered Turkish airspace and was shot down by NATO, according to a Turkish defense ministry statement on Monday.
Air defense and communication infrastructure
Among the costliest American losses to infrastructure have been to the air defense systems that protect U.S. and allied interests across the Middle East.
Iran has systematically targeted radar and communications systems, including components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, known as THAAD, which uses a radar to track and intercept incoming aerial threats throughout the region.
At Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, an important hub for the U.S. Air Force in Jordan, satellite imagery from February shows radar equipment at the base’s southern edge. An image taken two days after the war began shows severe damage to what appears to be an air defense sensor.
Military budget and contract documents indicate a single radar unit of this type can cost up to half a billion dollars.
A video from Feb. 28 shows an Iranian drone striking the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, damaging what appears to be a communications radome, a weatherproof cover that protects radar and communication equipment.
Gulf nations have also bought air defense equipment from American companies and deployed them near critical infrastructure, including oil refineries. Those foreign radar systems share information with the U.S. military, forming what defense analysts describe as a de facto, expanded U.S. military sensor network.
Iran has targeted such sites where air defense equipment was recently observed, like the Al Ruwais facility in the United Arab Emirates. Satellite imagery of the site from last year shows a THAAD unit near storage structures.
A satellite image taken after Iranian attacks shows significant damage to the storage structures. The Times was unable to verify whether the mobile THAAD unit was inside the storage structures at the time of the strikes.
Near Umm Dahal in Qatar, a long range AN/FPS-132 radar — built at a cost of $1.1 billion to provide early warning coverage across a 3,000 mile radius — apparently sustained damage to its main radar structure, as seen in satellite imagery.
The full extent of damage to U.S. air defense and communication infrastructure remains unclear. Michael Eisenstadt, a director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the affected radars would be difficult to repair or replace.
But Seth G. Jones, a president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the damage would most likely not significantly degrade U.S. military capabilities in this war. “The U.S. has such redundancy in collecting intelligence and other information from sensor networks, whether it’s land-based radars, aircrafts or space-based systems,” he said.
Diplomatic sites
Iran has also struck nonmilitary U.S. targets such as the consulate in Dubai, and embassies in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, forcing temporary closures. There have been no reported injuries in any of these attacks.
On Saturday night, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was targeted in a rocket attack. No casualties were reported. It was not immediately clear who was behind it and how much damage was caused. It is not included in The Times’s tally of damaged sites.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the U.S. Central Command, said on March 7 that Iranian ballistic missile attacks had dropped 90 percent since the first day of the conflict and drone attacks by 83 percent. Despite the declining pace, Iran has continued to strike American targets across the region.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention,” accusing the Taliban of “unjustly” detaining Americans and other foreign nationals.
In his announcement on Monday, Rubio said the Taliban continues to use “terrorist tactics” that he insisted “need to end.”
“I am designating Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” Rubio said in a statement. “The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions. These despicable tactics need to end.”
The secretary also called on the terror group to free a pair of Americans who are “unjustly detained” in Afghanistan.
IRAN REGIME CITED AS TRUMP ADMIN SET TO DESIGNATE SUDAN’S MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD A TERROR GROUP
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention.” (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals,” he said. “The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever.”
Coyle, 64, was detained more than a year ago without charges by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to his family, noting that he still has not been charged. His family said he was legally working to support Afghan language communities as an academic researcher.
Habibi, a 38-year-old American citizen who was born in Afghanistan, was taken along with his driver from their vehicle in the capital of Kabul in August 2022 by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to the State Department.
The FBI said Habibi was previously Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation and worked for the Kabul-based telecommunications company Asia Consultancy Group. The FBI said the Taliban detained 29 other employees of the company but has released most of them.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Taliban continues to use “terrorist tactics” that he insisted “need to end.” (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Habibi has not been heard from since his arrest, and the Taliban has not disclosed his whereabouts or condition, according to the State Department and FBI. The Taliban has previously denied it detained Habibi.
The U.S. is also calling for the return of the remains of Paul Overby, an author who was last seen close to Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan in 2014, according to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the situation.
The State Department could restrict the use of U.S. passports for travel to Afghanistan if the Taliban does not meet the U.S. government’s demands, the sources told the outlet.
A passport restriction of this kind is currently only in place for North Korea.
The Taliban called the decision by Rubio to designate Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” regrettable, adding that it wanted to resolve the matter through dialogue.
STATE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS ‘PROACTIVE’ EVACUATION EFFORTS AGAINST DEMS’ CLAIMS OF DIPLOMATIC CHAOS
The Taliban called the decision to designate Afghanistan a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” regrettable. (Reuters/Ali Khara)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country that ended the 20-year war in the region.
Rubio gave the “state sponsor of wrongful detention” designation to Iran late last month, just one day before the U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country. He warned that the U.S. could restrict travel to Iran over its detention of U.S. citizens, but there have not been any restrictions yet.
“The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions,” Rubio said at the time.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Gérard Araud, the highly connected former French ambassador to the United States, said Ursula von der Leyn is exceeding the powers of her mandate by tapping into foreign policy while pushing a German-like approach in an interview with Euronews.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
From Ukraine peace negotiations to the ongoing war in Iran, von der Leyen has managed to grow her role closer to that of a head of state in a move not without controversy.
Von der Leyen was the first EU official to call for a political transition in Iran in line with the goals of the United States and Israel, who have openly called for regime change in Tehran, and have urged the bloc to seek a more pragmatic approach to foreign policy.
“She’s [acting outside of] her competence,” Araud said on Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With on Tuesday, a day after von der Leyen addressed a conference of EU ambassadors in which she declared the world order conceived after the Second World War to be over and never to return.
**”**The Treaties of the European Union, which is the basis of the EU, do not give her any special competence in foreign policy,” he added, calling her remarks “surprising.”
In the same conference, von der Leyen made headlines in Brussels after she suggested the EU would always defend the rules-based system, but it can “no longer be a custodian of the old-world order” or assume its rules will shelter Europe in the future.
Araud said her comments are problematic as the EU seeks to cement new partnerships across the world by presenting itself as the last bastion of international rules and respect for fundamental values in a brutal, increasingly chaotic world.
“Europeans are the last flag bearers of international law,” he said. “It’s a bit like someone committing adultery while saying ‘I am in favour of the principles of marital fidelity’.’
In 2019, as von der Leyen assumed her first mandate, she vowed to make the European Commission a geopolitical actor. But her power moves into foreign policy have not gone unnoticed across European capitals, with relations with Israel becoming a point of tension between EU member states, seen as supportive, critics and the Commission.
Her complicated relationship with Kaja Kallas, the European foreign policy chief and EU High Representative, has also led to a cacophony of views when it comes to foreign policy, an area where the EU historically struggles to unite 27 voices.
Her positioning since the start of the war in Iran “is not in line with Spain, and it’s not in line with France, it’s a German line,” Araud said.
Araud, who made a name for himself in European diplomatic circles after a stint as French ambassador in the US from 2014 to 2019, said Trump has miscalculated the ramifications of attacking Iran, which he described as far more complicated than Venezuela, where the US was easily able to swap the leadership to a more friendly one.
“What is the goal of this operation? At the beginning, it was regime change, then it was the nuclear programme, and now it’s a question of destroying the Iranian military apparatus,” Araud said. “He thought he would encounter a situation closer to Venezuela, but that hasn’t worked…Iran has made the choice of waiting.”
The former French ambassador to Israel said he also worries Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “dragged the US” into a war without a clear plan and cautioned that Israel will not stop in its main objective of becoming the main player in the region, even if that means another round of military escalation and broader conflict in the region.
“There is a trauma after October 7th. For Israel, it cannot go back to the (scenario) that existed before that, and now it is about a new regime in the Middle East. Until now, they have been successful. But the biggest obstacle remains Iran.”
Asked how the war could end, he said Trump could play the TACO card — an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out — which could see the US President declaring victory and settling for a half-cooked resolution. Still, Araud said he does not believe Israel will leave its objectives incomplete when it comes to Iran. “I don’t think they will stop,” he said.
W.Va. lawmakers push through multiple bills as Saturday deadline nears
Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026
Bitcoin has mined 20 million coins: why the last of the remaining 1 million won’t arrive until 2140 | Fortune
By the Numbers: Financial report reveals scale of financial costs, growth
Business News Today: Stock and Share Market News, Economy and Finance News, Sensex, Nifty, Global Market, NSE, BSE Live IPO News – Moneycontrol.com
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after $1.2B deal scrapped
Von der Leyen ‘acting outside of competence,’ Araud tells Euronews
Wheelchair curler Steve Emt’s path from drunk driver to three-time Paralympian
Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City
Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Pennsylvania6 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Florida1 week agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Detroit, MI5 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year
-
Miami, FL6 days agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Sports6 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Virginia7 days agoGiants will hold 2026 training camp in West Virginia