The New York Times replied to Secretary of State Marco Rubio over his rejection of a recent report claiming the Trump administration was seeking the removal of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel as part of negotiations to open up the island's economy.
Rubio had replied to the original article by saying that "the reason so many in US media keep putting out fake stories like this one is because they continue to rely on charlatans & liars claiming to be in the know as their sources."
https://t.co/XFtvFzj28m pic.twitter.com/24OBKpYviN
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) March 18, 2026
However, the outlet replied hours later. Addressing Rubio directly, spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander recalled that the report is "based on conversation with four people familiar with the U.S. talks with Cuba."
"Our journalists reached out to your State Department of comment well before publication and received no disagreement with the information we were bringing to light. Neither you nor anyone else has presented a factual dispute to the reporting. Our reporting is real, and accurate," the spokesperson added.
The report in question also claimed that some Trump officials believe removing Diaz-Canel could allow structural changes in the country that he is reluctant to allow given his hardline views. They signaled to Cuban negotiators that the president must go but are leaving next steps to Havana.
The outlet went on to say that the Trump administration is not pushing for action against members of the Castro family, suggesting a move to achieve its goals without regime change in a similar way it did in Venezuela earlier this year.
Elsewhere, it noted that U.S. officials also want to removal of other older officials committed with the ideas of Fidel Castro, as well as the release of political prisoners.
Diaz-Canel appeared to react to the chatter, taunting the Trump administration. In a social media publication of his own, Diaz-Canel claimed that the U.S. "publicly threatens Cuba, almost every day, to forcefully topple its constitutional order."
"They announce plans to take over the country, its resources, properties and even the economy, which they seek to suffocate to force us to surrender. It is the only way the fierce economic war being waged as a form of collective punishment on all the people. Faced with a worst-case scenario, Cuba faces a certainty: any foreign aggressor will crash against an impregnable resistance," he added.
Originally published on Latin Times
