On July 20, 2026, the US State Department published a nearly 100-page report titled "Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism," intensifying the Trump administration's pressure campaign against Cuba. The report frames Havana as a decades-long sponsor of terrorism and espionage that has influenced the "radical left" in the United States.

President Donald Trump's administration previously cut off fuel supplies to Havana on April 2, 2026, amid a months-long energy crisis in Cuba. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has continued to criticize Cuba, linking it to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has gained political ground in the US, notably with Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory as New York City mayor.

The administration alleges that delegations of American radicals traveled to Cuba to learn urban terrorism and guerrilla tactics, citing historical surveillance and targeting of civil rights and labor organizers during the McCarthy era and Cold War.

This commentary highlights the Trump administration's strategy to associate Cuba with domestic political movements in the US, amplifying fears around terrorism and leftist politics.

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