Mention current U.S. policy toward Cuba in any conversation right now, and the name of Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez will inevitably come up in the conversation, along with a host of questions. Is there a “Cuban Delcy”? If so, who is it? Can President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio force a political transition in Cuba without a Delcy-like figure taking charge in Havana?
Top Trump administration officials are almost certainly asking themselves the same questions and looking for credible figures within the Cuban regime whom they view as similar to Delcy and can negotiate with. Their answers will determine how they approach Cuba’s government in the coming months.
Almost inevitably, given everything that has occurred in Venezuela this year, “Delcy” has become a meme for U.S. foreign policy under Trump. So enamored is he with his rose-tinted vision of how things have turned out there that his approach in general has become “Delcy-fied.” Everywhere he looks now, Trumps expects to find similarly friendly leaders who can deliver similar results. Likewise, the events that installed Rodriguez in power also have analysts and activists considering—but often rejecting—the Venezuela analogy for potential U.S. interventions involving other countries.