Rubio invites Cubans to partner with CIA; Havana calls it desperation
Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly encouraged Cubans seeking change to form a "discreet partnership with the CIA". Cuban officials rejected the outreach; the two right-leaning commentary pieces covering it back the move.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 1Secretary of State Marco Rubio last Friday encouraged Cubans who want change in their country to partner with the CIA, in a message posted in English and Spanish. Hot AirR “Last Friday, Secretary of State Rubio encouraged Cubans to partner with the CIA.” Read at Hot Air ↗ Right · 1The message urged those "seeking to create positive change in Cuba" to use the moment, citing "the disappointment of failed promises, the corruption, and the privileged lives of a few", and to seek change "through a discreet partnership with the CIA". Hot AirR “Seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discreet partnership with the CIA.” Read at Hot Air ↗ Right · 1Cuban officials rejected the outreach. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said there must be "a great deal of desperation or poverty within the agency's ranks if it has to hawk its job offers like toothpaste". Hot AirR “There must be a great deal of desperation or poverty within the agency’s ranks if it has to hawk its job offers like toothpaste,” Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said.” Read at Hot Air ↗
Right · 1President Miguel Díaz-Canel, without naming the CIA or Rubio, said on X that the US "has not abandoned its ambitions of domination over Cuba" and that Cubans are determined to defend the independence they won on 1 January 1959. Hot AirR ““The U.S. government makes it clear that it has not abandoned its ambitions of domination over Cuba,” he said on X.” Read at Hot Air ↗ Right · 1In a Fox News opinion piece, Rick de la Torre, a former CIA operations officer and chief of station in Latin America, argued the invitation puts pressure on intelligence officers, military officials and party insiders who may know of Havana's agents or of orders to arrest dissidents. Fox NewsR “An intelligence officer, military official, or party insider may know which Americans Havana has recruited, which foreign services it assists, or who signed an order to arrest a dissident.”“I am an American of Cuban descent who spent more than two decades as a CIA operations officer, including service as chief of station in Latin America.” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1He cited past Cuban espionage cases, including Ana Belén Montes, Victor Manuel Rocha, Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers and the Wasp Network, and said Cuba objects to the invitation because Havana believes espionage should remain its own privilege. Fox NewsR “Ana Belén Montes became the Pentagon’s leading Cuba analyst while working for Cuban intelligence.”“Havana apparently believes espionage should remain a privilege of the dictatorship.” Read at Fox News ↗
Right · 1The same author cautioned that Havana will send fabricators and controlled sources, so volunteers' claims must be verified and reliable sources protected. Fox NewsR “Havana will send fabricators and sources it controls.” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1Hot Air's John Sexton, citing an Atlantic report by a writer who visited Cuba in August, described a state that has all but collapsed, with blank ration cards, few visible police and soldiers, and ordinary Cubans who did not blame Donald Trump or the US for their situation. These are the Atlantic writer's observations as relayed by Hot Air, and the coverage does not independently verify them. Hot AirR “The Atlantic published a story today which says the Cuban government has all but collapsed.”“During nine days of travel around the island, I did not meet a single person who blamed Donald Trump or the United States for their situation...” Read at Hot Air ↗ Right · 1Sexton predicted that people will take up the CIA's offer and that this will eventually end the Castro-era system. This is his opinion; the coverage reports no responses to the offer. Hot AirR “People are going to take up the CIA on its offer and sooner or later that's going to lead to the end of Castro's revolution.” Read at Hot Air ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both pieces are opinion or commentary that support Rubio's invitation, presenting it as pressure on a failing dictatorship and a counterintelligence opportunity.
- Emphasis
- Fox stresses Cuba's history of spying on the US and the need to vet volunteers; Hot Air stresses Cuba's collapse and Cuban discontent, and treats the officials' reaction as bluster.
- Leaves out or plays down
- No left or centre outlet covers the story, and neither piece includes independent analysis of the risks, legality or likely effect of a public CIA recruitment appeal, or any response from the CIA itself.
- Charged language
- “dictatorship”“regime”“Cuba's Government Has Collapsed”“turning the tables”
What every side reports
- Rubio publicly invited Cubans to cooperate with the CIA.
- Both outlets support the invitation and describe the Cuban government as a failing dictatorship or regime.
Where accounts differ
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Whether the CIA appeal signals Cuban weakness or US desperation
- Left
- No left coverage. Cuban officials, quoted by Hot Air, call it a sign of CIA desperation.
- Centre
- No centre coverage.
- Right
- Both pieces see it as pressure on a collapsing state.
Marco Rubio person
Rubio invited Cubans seeking change to a 'discreet partnership with the CIA', citing failed promises, corruption and the privileges of a few.
“Seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discreet partnership with the CIA.” — Hot Air
Cuba place
Cuban officials call the CIA appeal a sign of desperation and say the US wants to dominate Cuba.
““The U.S. government makes it clear that it has not abandoned its ambitions of domination over Cuba,” he said on X.” — Hot Air
CIA organisation
The CIA is the intended recipient of the cooperation; the coverage gives no statement from the agency itself. Fox's author says any approach must be exacting, with sources verified and protected.
“Verify what he knows, test what he claims, and protect him if he proves reliable.” — Fox News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Cuba spent decades recruiting American spies. Now Washington is turning the tables on Havana
Critical Opinion by a former CIA officer backing the invitation as a way to pressure Havana's security apparatus, recalling Cuban spy cases.
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Hot AirR · · Opinion
Cuba's Government Has Collapsed and Cubans Know Who to Blame
Celebratory Conservative blog post using an Atlantic report to argue Cuba's government has collapsed and that CIA outreach will hasten its end.
- 25 Oct 13:53 First Fox NewsR Cuba spent decades recruiting American spies. Now Washington is turning the tables on Havana
- 26 Oct 22:00 +32h 7m Hot AirR Cuba's Government Has Collapsed and Cubans Know Who to Blame Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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