1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I am writing to express urgent and escalating concern over the administration’s rhetoric and actions toward Cuba, which are now crossing into openly dangerous territory. Recent statements from President Donald Trump about “taking Cuba” are not vague or offhand remarks — they are explicit, threatening, and profoundly destabilizing. When a sitting president speaks about “taking” another sovereign nation, it raises the unmistakable specter of invasion, forced regime change, or coercive control over another country’s government. That kind of language is reckless. It is not diplomacy. It is not strategy. It is a threat. Even more disturbing, these statements are being made while the United States is actively pursuing policies that are pushing Cuban society toward collapse. The ongoing economic pressure campaign — including severe restrictions that have effectively cut off critical energy supplies — is plunging the island into a deep humanitarian crisis. Much of Cuba is now experiencing prolonged and widespread power outages. Hospitals, food systems, transportation, and basic daily life are all being disrupted. This is not abstract policy — it is real suffering imposed on millions of people. Taken together, the rhetoric and the policy form a deeply troubling pattern: economic strangulation combined with explicit threats of takeover. This is the playbook of destabilization. Let’s be clear about what is being suggested. When the President talks about “taking Cuba,” while simultaneously tightening the screws on an already vulnerable population, it signals an openness — if not an intent — to force political outcomes through collapse, coercion, or worse. That is not how a responsible global power behaves. It is how crises are created. History has repeatedly shown that efforts to collapse governments through economic pressure do not produce stable or democratic outcomes. They produce chaos, suffering, and instability. They can trigger mass migration, deepen repression, and create the very conditions that lead to military escalation. If this trajectory continues, the United States risks sleepwalking into yet another preventable disaster in the Western Hemisphere. And once again, Congress has not authorized any of this. There has been no meaningful public debate. No clear articulation of objectives. No legal framework presented to justify such actions. Yet the rhetoric is escalating, the pressure is intensifying, and the risks are growing by the day. This is unacceptable. I urge Congress to act immediately: • Demand full transparency from the administration regarding any plans, discussions, or contingencies related to Cuba, including any consideration of military action or forced regime change. • Publicly and unequivocally reject the notion of “taking Cuba” in any form, whether through invasion, coercion, or engineered collapse. • Reassert Congress’s constitutional authority over war powers and make clear that no military action may occur without explicit authorization. • Oppose policies that are actively worsening humanitarian conditions on the island and push for immediate measures to alleviate civilian suffering. • Engage international partners to pursue a diplomatic, multilateral approach that prioritizes stability, human rights, and the well-being of the Cuban people. The current trajectory is not just misguided — it is dangerous. It risks turning a humanitarian crisis into a geopolitical catastrophe, and it undermines the very principles the United States claims to uphold. Threatening to “take” another country while contributing to the collapse of its basic systems is not strength. It is recklessness. Congress must intervene before this situation spirals any further.