Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on Cuba are tied to political change on the island, as the country faces widespread blackouts, unrest and a worsening economic crisis.

"Suffice it to say that the embargo is tied to political change on the island," Rubio told reporters at the White House. "The law, it's been codified. And, but the bottom line is their economy doesn't work. It's a nonfunctional economy. It's an economy that has survived.… That thing they have, has survived on subsidies from the Soviet Union and now from Venezuela. They don't get subsidies anymore. So they're in a lot of trouble. And the people in charge of them don't know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in charge."

Rubio’s comments come as Cuba faces a deepening energy crisis that has fueled protests and instability. 

A nationwide power grid collapse left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to U.S. Embassy statements and Cuban authorities.

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President Donald Trump indicated his administration is actively engaged. 

"Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They're talking to Marco," Trump told the reporters, "We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.… We’re dealing with Cuba."

Trump escalated his rhetoric against Cuba Monday, saying ‌he expected to have the "honor" of "taking Cuba in some form" and that "I can do anything I want" with the neighboring country.

A senior State Department official rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are responsible for the humanitarian situation, saying, "Widespread blackouts have sadly become common for many years in Cuba — a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and service for its people."  

"This is the tragic result of over 60 years of Communist rule," the official added. "An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness. 

"As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States," the official told Fox News Digital.

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Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá argued that the current crisis reflects systemic collapse inside the regime, not external pressure. 

"The blackout is the regime's collapse made visible: 65 years of totalitarianism finally consuming itself," Payá told Fox News Digital. "The protests are Cubans refusing to disappear into that darkness." 

She rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are driving the humanitarian situation. 

"Cubans are not suffering because of American policy," she said. "They are suffering because of a dictatorship. Pressure on the regime works. What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it." 

"The only way to end the humanitarian catastrophe is to end the regime," Payá added. "That’s the demand of the Cuban people." 

Recent blackouts and shortages have been linked to failures at key infrastructure, including the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, as well as fuel shortages following U.S. actions to curtail oil shipments from Venezuela, one of Cuba’s primary energy suppliers.

At the same time, Pentagon officials told lawmakers there are no plans to invade Cuba, even as they described it as a long-standing security concern.

Joseph Humire, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, said he was "not familiar with any plans on Cuba" when asked during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.

He described Cuba as "one of the strongest intelligence adversaries that we've had in the United States," adding that Cuban officials have operated across the region and were "defending Nicolás Maduro… in Caracas" during past operations. 

Cuba’s government has blamed U.S. sanctions for worsening the crisis, while U.S. officials argue it stems from decades of economic mismanagement and reliance on foreign subsidies.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," accusing the Taliban of "unjustly" detaining Americans and other foreign nationals.

In his announcement on Monday, Rubio said the Taliban continues to use "terrorist tactics" that he insisted "need to end."

"I am designating Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention," Rubio said in a statement. "The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions. These despicable tactics need to end."

The secretary also called on the terror group to free a pair of Americans who are "unjustly detained" in Afghanistan.

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"It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals," he said. "The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever."

Coyle, 64, was detained more than a year ago without charges by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to his family, noting that he still has not been charged. His family said he was legally working to support Afghan language communities as an academic researcher.

Habibi, a 38-year-old American citizen who was born in Afghanistan, was taken along with his driver from their vehicle in the capital of Kabul in August 2022 by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to the State Department.

The FBI said Habibi was previously Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation and worked for the Kabul-based telecommunications company Asia Consultancy Group. The FBI said the Taliban detained 29 other employees of the company but has released most of them.

Habibi has not been heard from since his arrest, and the Taliban has not disclosed his whereabouts or condition, according to the State Department and FBI. The Taliban has previously denied it detained Habibi.

The U.S. is also calling for the return of the remains of Paul Overby, an author who was last seen close to Afghanistan's border with Pakistan in 2014, according to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the situation.

The State Department could restrict the use of U.S. passports for travel to Afghanistan if the Taliban does not meet the U.S. government's demands, the sources told the outlet.

A passport restriction of this kind is currently only in place for North Korea.

The Taliban called the decision by Rubio to designate Afghanistan a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" regrettable, adding that it wanted to resolve the matter through dialogue.

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The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country that ended the 20-year war in the region.

Rubio gave the "state sponsor of wrongful detention" designation to Iran late last month, just one day before the U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country. He warned that the U.S. could restrict travel to Iran over its detention of U.S. citizens, but there have not been any restrictions yet.

"The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions," Rubio said at the time.

Reuters contributed to this report.