In a twist that only the political circus of Washington could orchestrate, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, proudly labeled a trio of Cuban-American congressmen—Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, and Carlos Giménez—as the “Crazy Cubans.”
What Johnson intended as praise for their fervor in Congress actually opens Pandora’s box of an unhealthy obsession that, led by current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has turned U.S. foreign policy into a weapon of mass destruction against countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. These self-proclaimed champions of democracy are nothing more than para-politicians who, under the guise of freedom, have perfected the art of shouting in Congress while lining their pockets with the dollars from the lobbies that fund their “campaigns.”
The policy of “maximum pressure” that Rubio and his “crazy” acolytes have championed is not just a strategy; it is a cult of suffering for others. Rubio, with his incendiary rhetoric, has labeled the regimes of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela as “enemies of humanity,” accusing them of destabilizing the region and causing migration crises. Meanwhile, Díaz-Balart has vehemently denounced any softening of sanctions, having called the Biden administration “naive” or “complicit” for not tightening the vise against Havana even more (a Biden who, in fact, has not lifted any of the hundreds of sanctions imposed during Donald Trump’s previous term). Salazar, for her part, is not far behind, proclaiming that it is time to “eradicate the cancer of socialism” in Latin America, while Carlos Giménez warns that the “tyrants of Havana, Caracas, and Managua will not sleep peacefully” under his watch, announcing with fanfare: “zero trips, zero visas, and zero remittances” for Cuba. These speeches, laden with paranoia, paint a picture where any dissent to the “American model” is an existential threat, justifying all kinds of sanctions.
But the irony is so thick it could be cut with a machete. While these “crazies” clamor for democracy, their actions have sown pain among the very people they claim to defend. The sanctions, designed to asphyxiate entire economies, have hit ordinary citizens harder than the leaders they so demonize. Entire families without access to basic goods, scarcity of basic resources for the most vulnerable, medicines or food, leading to an exacerbation of a humanitarian crisis and forcing millions to migrate. This behavior is not a defense of freedom; it is a political psychopathy that celebrates pain as a war trophy.
Then there is the cynicism of migration. Rubio and his cronies have used the migration crisis as a political cudgel, accusing “enemy regimes” of causing the exodus while presenting themselves as saviors of exiles. However, their support for mass deportations under the Trump administration reveals their true face. The revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and the cancellation of the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans show that their solidarity with migrants is as genuine as a three-dollar bill. Díaz-Balart, in an interview, advocated for a “case-by-case” approach to avoid mass deportations, but his silence in the face of Trump’s policies speaks louder than his words. Maria Elvira, self-proclaimed defender of the undocumented with her “Dignity Act,” has not hesitated to align with the hard line when it is electorally convenient. These “crazies” sell the tale of compassion in Miami-Dade, but when the cameras are off, they support measures that betray the communities that elected them; “traitors!” read a sign in the middle of Miami.
The paranoia of Rubio and company leads them to see communist ghosts on every corner of Latin America, while ignoring the real needs of their constituents. In their speeches, Cuba is a nest of Chinese and Russian spies, Venezuela a paradise of narcoterrorists, and Nicaragua a dictatorship without religious freedoms. But in their eagerness to demonize, they offer no viable solutions; only more sanctions, more confrontation, more pain. Their aggressive rhetoric is nothing more than a spectacle for the lobbies that capitalize on them, from the wealthy exiles of Miami to the interests that benefit from regional chaos. These characters have made a “political career” by saying “Cuba” and “Venezuela” in every speech, without lifting a finger for anyone.
Yes, they are crazy, yes, they are sick. Crazy with hatred, consumed by the dollars of politicking, and blinded by a vision that confuses “democracy” with revenge. Rubio, Salazar, Díaz-Balart, and Giménez are not defenders of freedom; they are merchants of suffering, selling empty promises while the people pay the price of their “maximum pressure.” But history has a way of punishing fanatics: defeat after defeat, their crusade crumbles under the weight of its own hypocrisy. Let them continue to shout in Congress; the world already knows that their “craziness” is nothing more than an empty echo of ambition and resentment.
(Taken from Mi Cuba por Siempre)
