Could Cuba become America’s next geopolitical flashpoint?

Cuba remains one of the most politically charged issues in American foreign policy. More than 60 years after the Cuban Revolution, debates around sanctions, regime change, and military intervention are once again intensifying.

In this episode, Mikael Wolfe explains why Cuba is fundamentally different from Venezuela and Iran, and why a U.S. intervention would be far more complicated than many assume. He discusses Donald Trump’s approach to Cuba, the influence of Marco Rubio and Cuban-American politics, and how decades of sanctions have shaped Cuba’s economic crisis.

Mikael also explores Obama-era diplomacy, the growing influence of China and Russia in the region, and whether peaceful political reform in Cuba is still possible without foreign intervention or regime change. Throughout the conversation, he challenges common narratives surrounding democracy, sovereignty, and America’s long relationship with the island.

Mikael Wolfe is a historian, author, and lecturer at the Department of History at Stanford University whose research focuses on modern Latin America, Cuba, environmental history, and U.S.-Cuba relations. His work examines how politics, ideology, and resource conflicts have shaped Cuban society and its relationship with global powers.