The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3579 - ICE Admits Defeat in Minnesota; U.S. Starving Cuba

Date: February 12, 2026
Host: Matthew Leck (in for Emma Vigeland & Sam Seder)
Guests: Brendan James & Noah Kulwin (Blowback Podcast), David J. Bier (Cato Institute)
Main Topics: ICE in Minnesota & Immigration Crackdown, U.S. Escalation Against Cuba

Episode Overview

This episode centers on two major stories:

1. The apparent ICE retreat from Minnesota after a wave of protests and nationwide scrutiny of abusive immigration enforcement, analyzed via official statements and libertarian critique.
2. The escalation of economic warfare against Cuba, including severe fuel blockades led by the Trump administration, and how these are impacting Cuban society and broader U.S.-Latin American relations.
   Matthew Leck holds the fort for an ailing Emma Vigeland, with in-depth interviews featuring Brendan James and Noah Kulwin of the Blowback Podcast, who recently visited Cuba, and testimony from Cato Institute’s David J. Bier on immigration enforcement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. ICE Drawdown in Minnesota: A Pyrrhic "Admit Defeat"

Segment: 00:13–15:17

• News Announcement:
  Matthew Leck introduces the recent, unexpected ICE statement about winding down their surge operation in Minnesota. Tom Homan (ICE “border czar”) gives a confused, halting press announcement—the drawdown is touted as due to "success" but veers into incoherent talking points.

  "He just sort of stopped talking mid sentence… It was a tongue error." — Noah Kulwin (04:40)

• Context & Skepticism:
  Leck breaks down why activists should be cautious before claiming victory:

  • ICE claims success, but locals know it’s due to unpopularity and unrelenting protests, not actual mission accomplished.
  • Ongoing public outcry despite police violence: "People continued to show up and protest… They’re not being made afraid, despite two people being murdered on camera." (05:10)
  • ICE still possesses a huge budget and institutional power, so future redeployments are likely.

• Larger Points on Immigration Hysteria:
  Leck and producers emphasize that

  • The ongoing crackdowns are political theater, not actually targeting serious crimes.
  • Republicans use immigrants as scapegoats for economic failures and as the bogeyman in their increasingly minoritarian politics.

  "This is a fever of hysteria that we are going through with immigration… That’s why we gave an agency with killer goons a budget greater than the FBI." — Matthew Leck (07:06)

Notable Quote

"Rather than a law enforcer, DHS has become the biggest lawbreaker in America today... [attacking] the 1st, the 2nd, the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 14th Amendments to the US Constitution, the writ of habeas corpus, the independent judiciary, and much more." — David J. Bier, Cato Institute (09:37)

2. U.S. Starvation of Cuba—Sanctions, Siege & Desperation

Segment: 20:24–48:22

Context for Escalation

• Following the U.S.-orchestrated kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Maduro, the Trump administration is threatening any nation that provides Cuba with fuel, notably oil.
• Cuba is facing rolling blackouts, children moved out of schools, and escalating humanitarian crisis.

On-the-Ground Testimony from Recent Cuba Visit

• Brendan James: Reports how sanctions snapped into place during their visit; chief Mexican fuel shipments canceled, and local anxiety surged.
• Noah Kulwin: Paints a bleak, siege-like picture—Cuba’s government and society under slow-motion attack with little clarity on U.S. end goals but clear human costs.

  "This has resulted in...a slow siege that is picking up steam in Cuba...massive power outages...not clear what the Trump admin is after beyond...see if they can foment a collapse of the government at the price of negatively affecting the lives of almost 10 million people." — Noah Kulwin (20:55)

International (Non-)Response

• Neighboring Latin American countries and even global players like China and Russia are offering token aid but publicly caveat their actions, hesitating to directly defy U.S. sanctions. Russia offers vague promises to send fuel "soon" (24:34).

Historical & Geopolitical Perspective

• U.S. hostility toward Cuba is nothing new: it’s rooted in a legacy of imperialism, dating back to Jefferson, the Monroe Doctrine, and consistent anti-communist efforts.
• Currently, the U.S. Cuba policy feels at once like a sign of imperial decline (a wounded animal is dangerous) and business-as-usual:

  "Just because something is in decline doesn't mean that it’s not dangerous...some animals get quite dangerous when they're cornered or sick..." — Noah Kulwin (25:06)

• The real policy drivers: Neocon holdovers like Marco Rubio (heir to the right-wing Cuban-American diaspora lobby, especially in Florida) are currently calling the shots, not Trump himself.

Right-Wing Cuban Exile Politics

• The Cuban-American diaspora (in Florida, New Jersey, NYC) exerts disproportionate, often extreme influence on U.S. Cuba policy:

  "The [diaspora] were a very effective, well-organized ethnic political bloc...a powerful force in some corners of American politics." — Noah Kulwin (33:12)

• Contrary to exile hardliners, current domestic Cuban politics are less divided than countries like Venezuela; reactionary organizing is centered in Miami and D.C, not Havana.

  "Any kind of [counter-revolution] power is in Miami and Washington...this is not like Venezuela." — Brendan James (35:56)

Attitudes and Hopes Within Cuba

• Most Cubans want an end to the embargo and normalization with the U.S., basic stability, and the freedom to live, work, and build relationships with family in the U.S.
• Bewilderment at why the U.S. cares so much, with sadness at the humanitarian toll.

  "They would like to have electricity all the time...Just a bewilderment about why does the US care so much? Why are they doing this?" — Noah Kulwin (38:50)

Civil Liberties in Cuba—A Nuanced Take

Segment: 40:27–45:30

• When asked about Cuban civil liberties, both guests underscore:

  • External siege conditions (U.S. economic warfare, attempts at assassination, invasion, subversion, and terrorism) shape restrictions.
  • Critics focusing solely on Cuban civil liberties but ignoring Ukraine or other nations at war do so out of bad faith or ideological selectivity.

  "They're at war...No sensible country would be expected to dot the i’s and cross the t’s...when they're under threat." — Brendan James (40:55)

• Point that much of the "rights" critique serves to retroactively justify U.S. imperialism instead of addressing root causes:

  "It comes from the impulse to blame this on Marxism instead of American imperialism..." — Matthew Leck (45:30)

Current & Future Outlook

• No global actor seems ready to break the blockade.
• Immediate future for Cuba is “pain and suffering,” with the U.S. seeking to “do a Gaza in slow motion”—deliberate deprivation until the anticipated collapse.

"The immediate outlook is pain and suffering for Cubans. And we’ve not seen any country actually move against the U.S. edict...Let’s do a Gaza in slow motion. Let’s starve a place...and see what happens." — Noah Kulwin (46:16)

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• ICE’s Dissembling, Drawdown & Activist Resilience

  • "They can't occupy the city more...they can't stay occupying our cities forever. People hate this, and people are getting better and better at responding to it. And they're not being made afraid, despite two people being murdered on camera." — Matthew Leck (05:10)

• Cato Institute’s David J. Bier on DHS Lawlessness

  • "Rather than a law enforcer, DHS has become the biggest lawbreaker in America today...In less than a year, DHS has attacked the 1st, the 2nd, the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 14th Amendments..." (09:37)

• Cuba Under Siege

  • "This has resulted in...a slow siege that is picking up steam in Cuba...massive power outages..." — Noah Kulwin (20:55)
  • "Just because something is in decline doesn't mean that it's not dangerous...some animals get quite dangerous when they're cornered and, or when they're sick." — Noah Kulwin (25:06)

• On U.S. Imperialism’s Consistency

  • “I think that you can't really look at what the US is doing in Cuba at this moment ... and say that it's all that different [from past decades’ interventions].” — Noah Kulwin (27:41)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• ICE in Minnesota/Immigration Crackdown: 00:13–15:17
• Cato Institute Immigration Testimony: 07:05–13:04
• Blowback on Cuba, Sanctions, and U.S. Policy: 20:24–48:22
• Civil Liberties in Cuba (Nuanced Discussion): 40:27–45:30
• Concluding Cuba Outlook/Plug for Blowback: 46:16–48:44

Tone & Style

• Confrontational & Irreverent: The hosts—true to the Majority Report’s DNA—take an acerbic, anti-imperialist line, don’t shrink from calling ICE a “Gestapo,” and ridicule official pretexts.
• Empathetic & Humanist: Deep concern for those targeted by ICE or left to suffer in Cuba.
• Skeptical of Establishment Politics: Both Democratic and Republican inaction or complicity are called out.

Episode Takeaways

• Both segments reinforce how U.S. institutions—whether ICE at home or foreign policy abroad—invoke law, order, and “humanitarianism” to justify violent, anti-democratic measures against marginalized communities and foreign societies.
• Activism and solidarity are possible, potent, and urgently needed, as ICE’s faltering in Minnesota and ongoing protests show—a rare flicker of hope.
• The Cuba blockade is not only ongoing but intensifying, with the added cruelty of “slow siege” strategies; even so, most Cubans hope above all for normal relations, not regime change.

For more on these stories:

• Interrogate the narratives (and numbers) around immigration “fraud” and enforcement.
• Follow the Blowback Podcast for deeper histories of U.S. policy in the Global South.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking the essential arguments, highlights, and takeaways of this Majority Report episode, with careful attention to tone and speaker intent.