According to the America First Policy Institute, a foreign policy approach based on “America First” is grounded in the idea that the United States is best positioned to lead the world — and to preserve peace and stability — when it prioritizes the security, prosperity, and general well-being of its own people. Such a principle, the Institute states, stands in opposition to an approach that prioritizes “the preservation of multinational processes over the protection of American interests.”

In this regard, the corruption of neighbors like Cuba — a destabilizing force in the region — also compromises the good governance interests of the American people.

In March, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), asserted that Havana could be implicated in a large-scale health care fraud scheme in South Florida.

“There are twice as many durable medical equipment providers here as there are McDonald’s restaurants. And that’s not because Bobby Kennedy is shutting down the McDonald’s! There is rampant fraud here, and we believe the Cuban government could be involved in this scheme!” he emphasized. “We are going to carry out these raids. And when you see these brave SWAT agents storming in to arrest these criminals, that sends a very clear message.”

For years, the island served as a haven for individuals who defrauded U.S. institutions, allowing them to retreat there to enjoy their ill-gotten fortunes in the tropics.

In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services released a list of the top fugitives wanted for Medicare fraud, seven of whom had direct ties to Cuba.

Exile groups — such as the Center for a Free Cuba (CFC), a non-partisan NGO based in Washington, D.C. — have published an analysis and policy recommendations aimed at supporting a democratic transition. In that document, the organization notes that it is not only corruption, but also criminality, that is currently subjecting the Cuban leadership to legal pursuit within the United States.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) announced on March 4 the reopening of a criminal investigation against Raúl Castro regarding the downing — which occurred on February 24, 1996 — of two unarmed civilian rescue planes in international airspace, an incident in which three U.S. citizens and one permanent resident died.

Two days later, The Washington Post reported that the Department of Justice had established a task force to examine potential federal charges against Cuban officials for crimes related to immigration, the economy, and other areas.

This is not the first time Raúl Castro’s name has come before American juries. In 1993, the press reported that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida had drafted a criminal indictment charging the regime as a structured organized crime enterprise, pursuant to the U.S. RICO Act.

The younger Castro, in his capacity as Minister of the Armed Forces, was considered the ringleader of a conspiracy aimed at moving at least 7.5 tons of cocaine from dangerous Colombian cartels into the United States, using Cuba — specifically Cayo Largo — as an air bridge.

However, the Department of Justice, under the administration of Democrat Bill Clinton, never issued a final indictment.

Well into the 21st century, the kleptocracy reigning on the island remains a stark reality.

Although the State repeatedly claims that the U.S. embargo is the primary cause of Cuba’s economic woes, since the year 2000, the United States has ranked among Cuba’s leading suppliers of food and agricultural products. In 2025 alone — as the CFC notes — Havana acquired more than $800 million in U.S. imports, consisting primarily of poultry and staple goods sourced from Alabama and Mississippi.

The World Food Programme’s alliances with various Castro-era ministries since 2018 have resulted in documented oversight failures, the CFC asserts. “Their own internal audit from August 2025 highlighted deficiencies in monitoring and risk management.” In many instances, products donated by foreign governments or organizations have ultimately been sold to the population.

While the Castro regime speaks of an impoverished economy, it jealously guards the resources held in the bank accounts of the Revolutionary Armed Forces — totaling $18 billion, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald — a figure that exceeds the international reserves of Costa Rica, Uruguay, or Panama.

Amidst corruption and lies, Havana survives, while the average Cuban wonders what to put on the table and yearns for a change that never comes.