Now well into his second year as the ultra-powerful U. S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has surprised many by not yet achieving his lifetime dream of overthrowing the Cuban Revolution that way back in 1959 overthrew the U.S.-backed/Mafia-backed Batista Dictatorship. Now 55 years old and born to Cuban parents in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, Rubio's has spent his entire adult life dreaming of regime change in Cuba, and now that he seemingly has the power to do so the key question is when? Well, at the start of August in 2026 there surely are other foreign entanglements slowing Rubio's Cuban plans but certainly not blocking them even as Cuba's revolutionary flag still waves over the vastly beautiful but troubled island.
Today on August 3rd in 2026 the top Cuban Headlines as shown above continue to inform the world that Cuba's dire problems, direly exacerbated by the ever-tightening U S. sanctions on the island, reveal a weak but coveted nation that is ripe for the "take over" that U. S. President Donald Trump, Rubio's only boss, has famously predicted.
While Marco Rubio was born in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood where he was mentored by lleana Ros-Lehtinen and many other Havana-born Cuban-Americans who were ultra-powerful opponents of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, most of the entire world and even many of the richest and most famous Cuban-Americans strongly disagree with Rubio/Ros-Lehtinen regarding Little Havana's treatment of the everyday Cubans who still in Cuba. Please note the quotations shown above.
The great Brazilian artist Carlos LaTuff has produced the most famous international images of the endless U. S. EMBARGO that has surrounded CUBA since 1962. And, of course, it has been severely tightened by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio since January of 2025. Supposedly it was created at the behest of Little Havana Miami Cubans in 1962 to "starve, deprive, and make miserable" Cubans in Cuba to persuade them to rise up and overthrow their revolutionary governement after the 1961 Bay of Pigs military attack and well-known assassination attempts against Fidel Castro failed. The EMBARGO indeed has enriched and empowered certain Cuban-Americans in Little Havana/Miami, but it has mostly starved, deprived, and made miserable many generations of Cubans in Cuba. Now in August of 2026 apparently only a few extremists in Little Havana/Miami still support the internationally comdemned EMBARGO and the hope is that one of them is not Marco Rubio who now is the ultra-powerful U. S. Secretary of State.
But still, Cuba continues to hang on. Above the island's longtime diplomat and U. S. expert Josefina Vidal welcomed Colombian President Gustavo Petro for his warm visit to Havana. Americans remember when Vidal tirelessly represented Cuba in negotiations with U. S. President Obama's administration that were aimed at normalizing relations between Cuba and the United States. During President Petro's visit this week, Vidal said, "Thank you, Mr. President. As you know, only the United States is Cuba's enemy. The rest of our neighbors and the rest of the world are our friends. But, f course, some leaders bow to pressure from the U. S. that hurts us."
The notable photographer Roberto Suarez took this photo this week from the nice, quaint hotel that looks over Vinales Valley that is a short, pleasant drive from Havana. It is one of the most scenic and most unique places in the world and welcomes tourists complete with trails that cater to hikers, bike-riders, riders on horseback, etc. Only tight U. S. restrictions against Cuban tourism keeps away swarms of tourists from experiencing the wonders of Vinales Valley, which I experienced when I visited the island in 2004, and the memories I retain will never desert me.
In this first week of August in 2026 the great Cuban photographer Roberto Suarez posted the two photos shown above on his Facebook page. His caption is: "These two photos were taken from room 24 in the Los Jazmines Hotel in Vinales Valley. For a few moments today, I want to remember this place that is uniquely Cuba's." Indeed, Roberto, I assure you that I have always remembered the Vinales Valley that I visited in 2004 and I still talk about the unique wonders I saw there.
Above is the truly magnificent Five-Star Melia Cohiba Hotel in Havana, one of the dozens of 4-star and 5-star hotels across Cuba that have finally closed because the two Spanish hotel and resort giants Melia and Iberstar now expect only the U. S. hotel and resort giants will operate on the island after this year's expected regime change. This Melia Cohiba Hotel in Havana has 401 Five-Star rooms that presumably one of the American giants will now purchase with the anticipation of soon actually making a lot of money when and if tourists are allowed again to freely visit Cuba...as they did so freely during the U.S.-friendly Batista dictatorship back in the 1950s. Back on July 24th in 2026 the London-based Reuters News Agency reported: "Melia has ceased all operations of its 34 hotels in Cuba amid the hardening of U. S. sanctions."
Realizing that the Trump-Rubio administration will likely orchestrate its Cuban regime change in 2026, both of the great Spanish hotel and resort chains, Melia and Iberostar, have finally closed dozens of their 4-star and 5-star hotels in Cuba. They assume U. S. and Miami hotel giants will soon fill the void catering to the top tourist attractions in Cuba. But in August in 2026 Cuba is trying to tell the United States that it wants U. S. and Miami businesses to invest in Cuba -- not to capture it!!!!
The top Cuban diplomat Carlos de Hernandez Cossio wants U. S. investors and so does Cuba's also very powerful Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga. Both men are key Cuban negotiators and their messages to the U. S. State Department are very sincere.
Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga
The famed explorer Columbus discovered Cuba in 1492 and then wrote in his diary that it was/is "the most beautiful land these eyes have ever seen," Since then the largest island in the Caribbean has fought revolutions against foreign nations. Cuba in the 1890s lost two revolutions against Spanish rule before Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution finally in 1959 defeated the US/Mafia-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. And so, now in 2026, Cuba is once again the underdog in its Evolution that is trying to save its sensational victory in the 1959 Revolution.
In 2026 some foreign aid reached Cuba, but not much.
Mostly in 2026 Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel has been left to wonder what U. S. President Donald Trump will do about his plan to "take over Cuba." And now into the month of August in 2026, many others are also wondering about that too.
And, meanwhile, Cubans in Cuba such as Toranzo Perez are perhaps the most concerned about what their futures hold while U. S. & Cuban leaders contemplate Cuba's future for them. A few months ago the young, talented, and well-educated Toranzo was a very popular News Anchor on Cubavision International Television in Havana. Then starting in January of 2026 the Trump-Rubio government drastically tightened alreadiy extremely tight EMBARGO rules that have created shortages of food and medicine as well as energy power blackouts across the entire island. Now Toranzo no longer works for the financially depleted TV News station but is trying to create a small business that hopefully might be successful. Below is what Toronzo posted on his Facebook page about what has happened to his neighborhood in Havana, and what he posted is greatly sad for a great capital city.
Above is my amigo Lorenzo's Havana this week.
This is Lorenzo's new business.
This is Toranzo and his son. Like generations of other Cubans on the island since 1959, these two have spent their lives loving their beautiful island and praying it is allowed to survive amid drastic and extremely biased sanctions exposed by the nearby superpower United States as well as mistakes by their own revolutionary government.
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