The authoritarian regimes of Cuba and Venezuela over the weekend condemned specific U.S. travel restrictions recently imposed on their citizens by President Donald Trump, which went into effect on Monday.
Both regimes — which have committed an extensive list of human rights violations against their own people, pushing millions to flee from communism and socialism — respectively accused U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio of being behind the “racist” and “hateful” travel restrictions. Rubio is an American of Cuban descent and, as such, has traditionally attracted a disproportionate volume of the Castro regime’s vitriol against American officials.
Last week, President Trump signed a proclamation imposing travel restrictions on immigrants and nonimmigrant nationals from 12 listed countries, while also imposing specific U.S. visa restrictions on seven other nations, including Cuba and Venezuela.
The travel restrictions, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 9, 2025, follow years of repeated abuse of the U.S. immigration system by individuals linked to Cuba’s communist Castro regime and Venezuela’s socialist Maduro regime. Of particular concern are the many cases of known repressors posing a threat to legitimate Cuban and Venezuelan political refugees who fled their countries upon landing in America. Some known cases also include regime-linked individuals accused of corruption who have set up businesses in the United States to further take advantage of the U.S. financial system.
President Trump cited visa overstay rates and refusal to accept their removable nationals as some of the reasons that led to the imposition of the travel restrictions on the two countries. More specifically, in the case of Cuba, a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism (SST), President Trump noted the Castro regime’s lack of cooperation and sufficient law enforcement information sharing with the United States.
In the case of Venezuela, President Trump detailed that the country lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and that it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the now-active travel restrictions in a series of social media posts, deeming them “racist” and claiming that the restrictions follow U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “personal agenda.”
“New U.S. entry ban on nationals of several countries has racist undertones with support from anti-Cuban politicians,” Rodríguez Parrilla first wrote on Thursday. “It harms contact between Cuban families. It damages personal, professional, academic, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.”
On Friday, the Cuban foreign minister published a second social media post in which he claimed that Cuba’s inclusion on the list of restricted countries “responds to the interests of anti-Cuban politicians, who make a fortune by suffocating our people.” Rodríguez Parrilla further claimed that the restrictions are a “new step toward further hindering bilateral relations, an express intention of the current Secretary of State.”
On Saturday, Rodríguez Parrilla wrote a third post in which he, citing the proclamation, claimed that the restrictions are the result of Sec. Rubio’s “personal agenda” and asserted that “there is no doubt that the arbitrary listing responds to the personal agenda of this politician [Rubio] known for his ability to lie, manipulate and accept bribes.”
Similarly, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío Domínguez claimed on social media that the United States is “attacking” Cuba with the travel restrictions, asserting that they are “damaging family ties, academic, cultural, sports, scientific, and other exchanges.” According to the official, “anti-Cuban politicians are complicit in this scheme.”
Venezuela’s socialist regime condemned the restrictions in a Foreign Ministry statement claiming that the measure is part of a “stigmatization and criminalization campaign” against Venezuelans with “obvious political and intimidating purposes.” Much like Cuba, Venezuela accused Secretary Rubio of being behind the purported campaign, which the regime further claimed is a “demonstration of the visceral hatred against the Venezuelan people that animates those who today conduct Washington’s foreign policy.”
“This operation has been promoted by the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, an official known for his hatred of the Venezuelan people, who has made systematic aggression his foreign policy, with the support of the Venezuelan far right,” the statement read.
“The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela reiterates its unwavering commitment to defending the rights and interests of Venezuelans anywhere in the world,” the statement continued, “and, in the face of this new wave of aggression, reaffirms the maximum travel alert to the United States, warning that that country does not currently guarantee the minimum conditions of respect, dignified treatment, or legality for our citizens.”
Days before President Trump signed off the proclamation, the Maduro regime accused the United States of being a “dangerous country, where human rights do not exist for migrants,” and a “real threat” to the lives of Latin Americans. The Maduro regime urged Venezuelan nationals to abstain from traveling to the U.S. and called for Venezuelans in the United States to “immediately leave.”
Last week, Interior Minister and wanted drug lord Diosdado Cabello also condemned the travel restrictions during the latest broadcast of his weekly socialist show Hitting with the Mallet. Cabello, who claimed that “being in the United States is a great risk for any person, not only for Venezuelans,” said that you should only travel to the United States “if you’re a huge idiot.”
“It’s fascism. It’s the supremacists. Those who think they own the world and persecute our people for no reason. They don’t talk about Tren de Aragua anymore, have you noticed? They’ve been exposed as liars,” Cabello said.
“Those who govern the United States are bad people; it is fascism, they are supremacists who think they own the world and persecute our people for no reason,” he added at a later point during his broadcast.
Similarly, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) coalition of opposition parties condemned the travel restrictions and called for Venezuela’s removal from the list of restricted countries on the grounds that it “represents a measure that further aggravates the already complex migratory situation of Venezuelans, who should not be the ones to suffer the consequences of the crisis that our nation is going through.”
“The Venezuelan people are fighting for democracy, human rights, and dignity. We therefore request that the US government review this decision and remove Venezuela from the list,” their statement read. “We deserve the support of the free world, not additional punishment.”
Venezuela’s only mainstream center-right party, Vente Venezuela, led by opposition leader María Corina Machado, issued a separate statement stressing that it is fundamental that the restrictions are adjusted so that they are “expressly focused on those who support the criminal regime in Venezuela or commit illegal acts outside the country.”
“We trust that the U.S. authorities will take this fundamental distinction into account in the application of their immigration policy, thus preventing innocent people from being subjected to potential injustices,” Machado said.
“We also express our firm commitment to the liberation of Venezuela, a dignified home for all Venezuelans, and we thank the Trump administration for its support for the democratic cause and the fight against the tyranny of Nicolás Maduro, whose departure is the only guarantee for the return of our fellow citizens and the stability of the region,” the statement concluded.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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