[tmcz26]

What’s Cuba relevance today? Back in the Cold War they had a strategic location, close ties to the USSR etc. But that hasn’t been the case since the other Castro died.

Today Cuba is irrelevant. I don’t even know the name on the Cuban president, they are not in the news, produce nothing, and threats nobody.

That would just be a wasted of “goodwill” IMO.

[1659447091]

I think this is the telling statement in the article wrt Cuba relevance:

...Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American who as a U.S. senator was famous for his longstanding antipathy toward Havana. Mr. Rubio has long signaled his belief that a change in Venezuela’s government would weaken Cuba, which he has said would be a welcome outcome.

Which links to an article with more context:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/us/politics/rubio-cuba-ve...

[legitster]

In addition to its geopolitical value, Cuba has some of the most favorable geography in the world for agriculture and tourism. It's 4x the size of Hawaii and conveniently located for America, Latin America, and Europe.

They also have a highly educated population, a rich culture of music and food recognized around the world, and low crimes.

It has the potential to be a world class travel destination - the only thing holding it in irrelevance is its own despotic government and the US's sanctions on said government.

If you were a profit-driven imperialist, Cuba probably represents the largest untapped opportunity in the Western Hemisphere.

[hollerith]

The relevance of Cuba is that (with the help of another power with better military tech) it can shut down transit of big ships to and from the US gulf coast.

[JojoFatsani]

The Cuban voting bloc in Florida. That’s the relevance.

[codingdave]

Well, for starters it is home to 11 million people. It might not be relevant to your life, but it certainly is relevant to theirs.

[tmcz26]

Right. Afghanistan had 20M+ in 2001, what’s your point?

What I’m saying is that, geopolitically, Cuba is not relevant today the US has no upside in going after it. They don’t even put out anti-American rhetoric anymore.

[sleepyguy]

>Today Cuba is irrelevant.

Cuba has been linked to supporting terrorist activities. Over 20,000 Cubans are reportedly fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. The Cuban government has also been known to back authoritarian regimes worldwide. For instance, it was a Cuban intelligence group assigned to protect Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that was reportedly targeted and eliminated by U.S. Delta Force during an operation to capture Maduro. This incident highlighted that Maduro did not trust his own security forces.

In addition, the U.S. government has accused Cuba of being involved in the "Havana Syndrome," a series of mysterious health incidents where American diplomats were reportedly attacked using a radio frequency weapon. The device was later found to be in the possession of a Russian agent in Florida (see 60 minutes Investigation). Despite Cuba's severe economic hardships, it continues to find resources to support global terror activities. This occurs even as basic necessities, like bread, are difficult to obtain within Cuba itself.

Hope that the U.S. will eventually put an end to the communist regime in Cuba.

[jaggs]

America, heck yeah!

[AnimalMuppet]

> Hope that the U.S. will eventually put an end to the communist regime in Cuba.

Or, you know, hope that the people of Cuba will.