Rubio: Don't Get Hopes Up — Nothing's Going to Change in Cuba

The American flag may be going up on the U.S. Embassy in Havana, but Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says the Castro government has sent a clear message to its citizens: Nothing is going to change.

The Cuban government has "basically pocketed all of these concessions that the president has made," Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said Thursday on Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File."

"This weekend alone they rounded up and arrested upwards of 90 or so dissidents," Rubio said. "They beat people up on Sunday of this week. The Cubans have said flat out, not only is nothing going to change."

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro on Thursday said the United States owes his country millions of dollars because of the five-decade embargo.

Rubio called that "ridiculous talk" aimed at his own people, not the U.S. government.

"It's a subliminal message that they're sending to their people," Rubio said, noting that Castro's essay was published in the official government newspaper in Cuba. "The message is: I know you're going to have an American flag at this embassy, I know you're going to see more American travelers coming here, but we're still anti-American. Don't get your hopes up."

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