Cuba to Trump: Invade us and you'll meet the razor-sharp rocks

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has dismissed US President Donald Trump's fresh threats against the island, answering with a warning of his own. In a post on X, Rodriguez said any force landing with hostile intent would find an unwelcoming shore. He closed with a single line: ``Cuba is not a threat; the US blockade is.''

Rodriguez leaned on geography to make the point, noting that while Cuba's coastline is lined with beautiful beaches, it also hides razor-sharp limestone spikes — an inhospitable setup, he wrote, for anyone arriving with ``hostile purposes and lust for domination.'' The message landed as a pointed rebuke rather than a diplomatic olive branch.

The exchange caps a loud week from Washington. At a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, Trump suggested his administration would ``take care'' of Cuba once the war in Iran wraps up, describing US ships passing the island and stopping about 50 yards off the coast. In his telling, they would ``raise up their hands,'' and he would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio in to ``finish up the deal.'' Trump also used the moment to praise the reach of the US military, calling it the most powerful in the world.

Rubio piled on separately, encouraging ``positive change in Cuba'' and suggesting it could come ``through a discreet partnership'' with the CIA. Writing on X, he pointed to ``corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few'' as reasons to act, without spelling out what he had in mind. According to the outlet's reporting, his comments landed shortly after Trump hinted the island could be Washington's next target after Iran.

The pressure is showing up beyond rhetoric. Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned US moves against Cuba — sanctions and what Tehran described as efforts to intimidate Cuban officials and public figures — after new charges in Florida against 95-year-old former Cuban President Raul Castro. Tehran called the arrest warrant a ``criminal and illegal act'' and argued Washington's decades-long sanctions violate the UN Charter and international law.

There's an economic squeeze too. Mexico's Pemex stopped reporting oil and gasoline shipments to Cuba in the second quarter, according to El Universal, which cited the state oil company's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A Pemex subsidiary logged no shipments to the island in that period, down from roughly 900 barrels per day in the first quarter — though an energy consultant told El Universal that the missing filings don't necessarily mean every delivery stopped.