Cuba tensions on agenda as Rubio to meet Pope Leo XIV
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy and the Vatican this week for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV, where Cuba is on the agenda, USA TODAY has learned.
The United States began ramping up pressure on the Communist-run island in January, leveraging an oil embargo and curtailing aid to force the Cuban government to cut a deal or face military action.
The visit would be the first meeting between the Chicago-born pontiff and a senior member of the administration since President Donald Trump sharply criticized the pope last month. An official Vatican calendar notice said the meeting was due May 7.
A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed Rubio's trip and said the visit to Rome would run from May 6 to May 8. The purpose of the visit is "to advance bilateral relations with Italy and the Vatican," State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
Pigott said that Rubio would meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East, "and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere."
Meetings with the secretary's Italian counterparts are expected to focus on shared security interests, Pigott said.
The State Department declined to provide further details on Rubio's agenda in response to an inquiry from USA TODAY.
In March, USA TODAY reported that the United States and Cuba were exploring an economic deal. And last month, USA TODAY reported on a U.S. push for Cuba to release high-profile political prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.
Trump has been at odds with the pope's position on the war in Iran. The Vatican has also traditionally acted as a mediator with Cuba, a country Trump has mused about taking over. Leo has expressed concerns about rising tensions between the Trump administration and Cuba. The White House is intent on pushing for economic and political reforms in Cuba and has instituted a de facto oil blockade of the island that has brought it to the brink of humanitarian disaster.
"In April, the Cuban government announced that it granted pardons to 2,010 detainees ‒ none of whom were considered political prisoners by a leading human rights group ‒ ahead of Easter in what appeared to be a gesture aimed at the White House.
Last month, Trump criticized Leo, calling him “soft on crime” and “awful on foreign affairs.” The remarks sparked disagreement among conservative Catholics and triggered a wave of backlash. Trump also implied that Leo − the first pope born in the United States − was chosen by the conclave last year, partly in response to his own leadership.
Rubio, who's Catholic, led the U.S. delegation to the pontiff's inaugural mass alongside Vice President JD Vance a year ago in May. He met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on that visit and was scheduled to do so again this week on May 8, per the Italian government.
The visit comes amid tension with the European Union over trade and on the heels of a fresh threat from Trump to remove troops from NATO nations such as Italy that have refused to help the United States with its military campaign in Iran.