Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The State Department names more than 40 American organizations and people as Cuban “front groups and fellow travelers”
A 100-page report released under Secretary of State Marco Rubio accuses Cuba of a “campaign of subversion” in the United States and lists Americans by name, including an elected mayor and a journalist.
What happened
On July 20, 2026, the State Department under Secretary Marco Rubio released a 100-page report titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism.” It accuses Cuba’s government of a “campaign of subversion” that “infiltrated the highest reaches of the U.S. government” and “backed an unprecedented wave of left-wing terrorism on American soil.”
A chapter titled “Front Groups and Fellow Travelers” names more than 40 American organizations and people. They include the Democratic Socialists of America, CODEPINK, streamer Hasan Piker, Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, journalist Amy Goodman and Isra Hirsi, daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
The report says the Democratic Socialists of America is not “controlled by Cuban agents, per se.” It describes the group’s commitment to the Cuban regime as “fierce, almost religious.” Named individuals are cited for criticizing U.S. Cuba policy or joining solidarity trips. The report came days after Rubio imposed new sanctions on Cuba.
Who benefited
Rubio, whose career has centered on pressure against Havana, now has an official document tying his domestic opponents to a foreign adversary. Trump was using “communism” as a campaign theme against the Democratic left in the same weeks. Opponents of Mamdani and the DSA gained a government citation to use against them.
Who wanted something
Rubio and the State Department’s Cuba hawks had sought maximum pressure on Havana for years. Through NSPM-7 and the Antifa order, the White House had directed agencies to treat the left as a security threat. The report extends that frame from domestic terrorism to foreign subversion, a category that invites counterintelligence attention.
Who lost out
The named Americans are now identified in a U.S. government publication as instruments of a hostile foreign government, for lawful speech and travel. They include an elected mayor, a labor organizer, a journalist and a congresswoman’s daughter. Cuba-solidarity and socialist organizations, and their members, are named alongside them.
Why it matters
A cabinet department put the names of American citizens in a government report as “fellow travelers” of a foreign adversary because of their political views. Alongside the domestic-terrorism directives, it widens the set of labels available to justify investigating critics. The report itself says the DSA is not controlled by Cuban agents.
Sources U.S. Department of State (primary)The GuardianForeign PolicyThe Independent