• When a member of Gen Z smells good, you can probably thank Sol de Janeiro.
• I'm a millennial and new to the brand, so I tried six of its popular fragrances.
• The best scent, in my opinion, is also one of the brand's most underrated.

Millennials had Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. Gen Z has Sol de Janeiro.

The body, hair, and fragrance brand, founded in 2015, has become a major player in the industry. A 2025 fiscal year report from L'Occitane Group, Sol de Janeiro's parent company, said the brand accounted for 31.6% of the group's sales. The report also described Sol de Janeiro as Sephora North America's No. 1 beauty brand and the No. 1 fragrance brand on Amazon US at the time.

Two Sol de Janeiro products have led that charge. First, millennials embraced the $48 Brazilian Bum Bum Cream after it launched in 2015, turning it into a skincare staple.

Tweens and teens have now become obsessed with the $39 Cheirosa perfume mists, the first of which debuted in 2020. The sprays have become a staple of young people's shopping hauls, holiday wish lists, and what's-in-my-bag videos.

The brand confirmed to Business Insider that its three most popular scents are Cheirosa 62, 40, and 68.

I'm a big fragrance fan myself, but I had yet to try the perfume mists. So I went to Ulta Beauty, purchased a $49 sample set of six Sol de Janeiro scents, and tested them on my skin.

Considering each mist's scent, staying power, wearability, and personal preference, here's how I'd rank them from worst to best.

I wish the Cheirosa 71 mist had more depth.

If there's one thing I love more than fragrances, it's sweet treats — so Cheirosa 71 should have worked for me.

Sol de Janeiro says the scent is inspired by the iconic Confeitaria Colombo bakery in Brazil, with notes of caramelized vanilla, toasted macadamia nut, sea salt, white chocolate, and tonka bean.

When I tried it, the mist smelled more like a gingerbread cookie to me. Then, as it settled, it transformed into something more reminiscent of a graham cracker drizzled with caramel.

Some critics of this scent say it smells like buttered popcorn. I didn't notice that on my skin.

Instead, it reminded me of a holiday hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works. I can appreciate the scent for a moment, but I don't want it to linger all day. It's too strong and sickly sweet for me.

Cheirosa 62 is Sol de Janeiro's most famous scent, but it's not my favorite.

I'll be honest. I was never that impressed by Cheirosa 62, the scent made famous by the brand's Brazilian Bum Bum Cream.

Sol de Janeiro describes the fragrance as "irresistible and sunny." It's a nod to Brazil in 1962, when "The Girl from Ipanema" was written.

With notes of pistachio, almonds, heliotrope flower, jasmine petals, vanilla, salted caramel, and sandalwood, Cheirosa 62 is exactly that. I'd describe it as summer in a bottle.

That said, it also makes the fragrance seasonal for me. It just doesn't feel right to wear in the fall, winter, or spring.

I also think the notes lend themselves better to a richer, creamier product, like the Bum Bum cream.

The Cheirosa 39 mist stands out, which I appreciate.

If any Sol de Janeiro scent smells like buttered popcorn, I think it's this one.

This scent is meant to be beachy, as if you were lounging on a hammock with the breeze in your hair, Sol de Janeiro says. It has notes of coconut cream, toasted vanilla, tropical orchid, sandalwood, and praline.

When I first spray the mist, that combination smells like buttered popcorn on my skin. That's not any reflection of Sol de Janeiro. Perfumes smell different on everyone because of their individual skin chemistry.

But I'm not complaining. I actually like the scent. It's decadent, intriguing, and different than anything else in my fragrance collection.

The coconut and vanilla notes come through more as it settles, with florals peeking through. It takes some time, but it eventually transports me to an island.

So while I might not wear Cheirosa 39 every day, I will add it to my perfume rotation.

I feel fresh, youthful, and like I'm on vacation when I wear Cheirosa 68.

The Cheirosa 68 scent was inspired by Brazil's Tropicália Movement in 1968, which influenced the country's art, music, and culture.

It includes notes of dragonfruit, lychee essence, Brazilian jasmine, ocean air, hibiscus, vanilla, and musk.

To me, it smells sweet, sunny, and refreshing. I could see myself wearing it to the beach or for a night out with friends.

Considering my current fragrance lineup, I'll probably wear this on occasion when the weather is warmer. If I were a teen in 2026, though, I'd probably wear this Sol de Janeiro scent every day.

Cheirosa 40 reminds me of my favorite scent from Victoria's Secret.

The famous Carnaval Ball in Rio inspired the Cheirosa 40 perfume mist.

On its website, Sol de Janeiro says it's meant to be sultry and delicate, with notes of black amber plum, crème de cassis, jasmine, Brazilian orchid, vanilla, and musk.

In my experience, each of those notes comes through with a single spray of the fragrance. It's one of the most mature and longest-lasting scents in the lineup I tried.

It also reminds me of my favorite Victoria's Secret scent: Bombshell Intense. Naturally, I have to recommend it to fellow millennials looking to get in on the Sol de Janeiro trend.

I can't get enough of Cheirosa 48.

Sol de Janeiro says on its website that this scent should be as liberating as the "energy of 1948, when the bikini was first spotted in Brazil."

Liberating is accurate, but I'd also say this scent is exhilarating. Its notes blend guava nectar, coconut water, orchid, lemon, wild orris, pink musk, and vanilla.

Together, they create a fragrance that's as refreshing and exciting as a poolside drink in the summer. Still, the musk notes make it more versatile than a basic summer scent.

Cheirosa 48 is the Sol de Janeiro mist I'll be wearing year-round.

French authorities have imposed extensive restrictions on demonstrations following last weekend’s violence. Courts have overturned some bans, while unions have accepted a last-minute change to the Paris protest route.

French police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Lyon on Saturday morning, 24 October, as 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide to prevent a repetition of the violence and looting that accompanied last weekend’s mass protests.

In Paris, trade unions agreed to a revised demonstration route after the administrative court rejected their challenge to a last-minute police order. The march will proceed from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes, rather than between Bastille and Nation as originally agreed, with the procession scheduled to begin at 2pm.

Elsewhere, emergency judicial decisions have complicated the government’s security arrangements. Courts have suspended restrictions in Limoges and several municipalities around Marseille, while other cities remain subject to extensive bans on public gatherings.

The developments follow last weekend’s nationwide unrest, when approximately 550,000 people demonstrated against rising living costs, deteriorating public services and conditions in French schools. Violence erupted in several cities, leaving businesses looted, public buildings damaged and police officers injured.

Security operation on an unprecedented scale

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has ordered the deployment of 10,000 additional officers compared with 17 October. The operation includes specialist police units, armoured vehicles, helicopters and water cannon.

According to the government’s official security instructions, prefects must examine proposed demonstration routes, assess the reliability of organisers and take preventive measures where there is evidence of a risk to public order.

The authorities are particularly concerned about organised groups exploiting otherwise peaceful demonstrations to attack commercial premises and government buildings.

Security services expect between 400,000 and 500,000 people to participate in Saturday’s mobilisation. The government has warned that calls for renewed violence and looting have circulated online.

The previous weekend’s disturbances resulted in thousands of arrests. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 217 people had already received prison sentences, with approximately half described as first-time offenders.

Courts challenge sweeping restrictions

The government’s measures have prompted an increasingly contentious legal dispute over the constitutional protection of public demonstrations.

The French Human Rights League has challenged restrictions in several cities, including Brest, Quimper, Caen, Marseille, Lille and Montpellier. It argues that extensive prohibitions interfere with freedom of assembly, expression and movement.

In Marseille, negotiations between local authorities and trade unions resulted in permission for a demonstration along an agreed route through the city. A separate administrative court decision subsequently suspended parts of the wider departmental ban, allowing gatherings in Gardanne, Istres, Martigues, Miramas and Tarascon.

The administrative court in Limoges also suspended restrictions on gatherings of more than ten people in the city centre and overturned an associated curfew.

In Lyon, however, restrictions remained in force across a large central area. Police dispersed approximately 150 demonstrators near Lyon III University shortly before 11am after participants blocked traffic close to the prohibited perimeter.

Macron faces a constitutional and political challenge

President Emmanuel Macron has argued that protecting public order must take priority following the destruction witnessed on 17 October.

His suggestion on Thursday that demonstrations not organised by recognised trade unions should generally be prohibited prompted legal challenges from opposition parties and civil liberties organisations.

In a ruling delivered on 23 October, the Conseil d’État rejected challenges to Macron’s remarks, finding that they did not themselves constitute a binding nationwide prohibition. The court nevertheless reaffirmed that prefects must assess individual demonstrations according to the circumstances and risks involved.

The ruling leaves local restrictions subject to judicial scrutiny rather than providing the government with unrestricted authority to prohibit protests.

Meanwhile, the movement’s original demands remain unresolved. What began with secondary-school students protesting against staff shortages, overcrowding and educational conditions has expanded into a broader mobilisation involving trade unions, university students and Yellow Vest campaigners.

Macron met representatives of secondary-school students on Friday, but participants subsequently called for demonstrations to continue until concrete proposals were presented.

Growing pressure ahead of the presidential election

The renewed mobilisation comes six months before France’s presidential election, in which Macron cannot seek a third consecutive term.

Political tensions are also evident in Orléans, where thousands of demonstrators gathered on Saturday to oppose the National Rally’s weekend party congress. Authorities deployed additional security personnel and restricted the location of the protest.

For the government, the immediate objective is to prevent another outbreak of large-scale violence. For unions and civil liberties organisations, the dispute increasingly concerns the conditions under which public protest may legitimately be restricted.

As EU Today reported ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations, the central legal question is whether prohibitions are proportionate to identifiable security risks.

The courts have now begun answering that question differently across France, leaving the authorities to enforce a patchwork of restrictions as the country’s social and political confrontation continues.

Ecuadorian opposition figure Luisa González faces pretrial detention over alleged money laundering in the Labyrinth case.

Ecuadorian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Luisa González was transferred to a prison in Riobamba on Friday night after a judge ordered her pretrial detention over alleged money laundering in the so-called Labyrinth case.

RELATED: Ecuador Prosecutors Seek Preventive Detention for Leftist Leader Luisa Gonzalez

A convoy of National Police and Armed Forces personnel arrived outside the detention center in Riobamba, in Chimborazo province, shortly after 9 p.m. local time on Oct. 23. Prison authorities had not officially confirmed González’s admission to the women’s facility at the time of the report.

The transfer began shortly after 4 p.m. from the Modelo barracks in Guayaquil, where González had been taken following her arrest Thursday in Canuto, Manabí province. Police transported her to an air base before she boarded a flight that landed at Latacunga airport in Cotopaxi province at 7:30 p.m.

Although initial reports indicated that González would be held at a prison in Cotopaxi or Quito, police ultimately arranged for her to travel by road to Riobamba in a heavily guarded convoy accompanied by patrol cars and tactical units.

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Text Reads: 🛬 Luisa González, former presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution (Revolución Ciudadana) movement, arrived at Cotopaxi Airport under the escort of military and police personnel, hours after a judge ordered her pretrial detention.
⚖️ This measure relates to alleged money laundering, as part of the “Laberinto” (Labyrinth) case. González was taken into custody early Thursday morning following a raid on her home in Chone, Manabí.
🏛️ The State Attorney General’s Office maintained its request for pretrial detention, which also applies to former assembly member Santiago Díaz and Wendy Onofre, secretary of the RETO movement.
📌 These judicial actions are part of a broader agenda of political persecution being carried out by the administration of Daniel Noboa against opposition figures and leaders.

The use of air transport for part of the journey was intended to reduce public-order risks amid tensions at several prisons across Ecuador. Interior Minister John Reimberg directly linked the unrest to reactions to González’s arrest.

González, the former leader of the Citizen Revolution movement, has rejected the allegations against her. The movement and her associates denounced the pretrial detention order as an act of lawfare and political persecution.

In a statement posted on social media, González reaffirmed her innocence and declared that she would remain in Ecuador to face the judicial proceedings.

Supporters gathered outside the Riobamba prison to hold a vigil, carrying flags and banners behind a security barrier erected by uniformed personnel. Patricia Núñez, a member of the National Assembly representing Chimborazo province, joined the gathering.

The court also ordered pretrial detention for former lawmaker Santiago D. and Wendy Onofre, secretary of the RETO movement, in connection with the same case. Onofre voluntarily surrendered in Guayas province and was admitted shortly after 8 p.m. to the Pichincha No. 3 detention center in Chillogallo, southern Quito.

Another defendant, Estefanía M., was granted alternative measures for the 90-day investigation period, including regular reporting to authorities, a ban on leaving the country and electronic monitoring.

• Frutiger Aero, a Gen Z favorite, combines early internet nostalgia with a utopian tech vision.
• Fans say the aesthetic represents a "future that was promised" by tech but never arrived.
• Some recent tech releases have hinted at a Frutiger Aero revival.

Looking at 22-year-old Sammy Conti's room is like looking into a fishbowl.

Shades of blue fill the space, interspersed with neon green and the occasional pop of orange or yellow. Vines, bubbles, and jellyfish hang from the ceiling. Moving lamps are everywhere: lava lamps, bubble lamps, aquarium lamps with roving tropical fish. Then there are objects that feel out of place: a purple Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64 cartridges, Wii and PlayStation game cases hung like art on a gallery wall, and a DIY mirror in the shape of an old Microsoft Windows logo.

The confluence of nature and old-school tech isn't random. It's Frutiger Aero, an aesthetic inspired by the early internet, embraced by Gen Zers who say it represents a future that was promised but never arrived — one where technology is a source of inspiration and fuel for creativity, coexisting with nature and helping us ascend to our highest selves.

"You grow up thinking the world is going to be this green utopia where we coexist with nature and have technology and it helps us," Conti told Business Insider. "Then as I started getting older, things became very sleek and modernist, very gray."

For Conti, whose Frutiger Aero content has earned her more than 700,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, the aesthetic represents a promise tech abandoned. "We could have lived in that future," she said. "It could have been taken care of responsibly in a way that doesn't take people's jobs, doesn't pollute the environment, but it's not."

A corporate tech aesthetic gets a glow-up

A fervent online community has formed around the term after it first gained traction in 2023, according to Google Trends data. There's an active Discord and Subreddit, plus millions of views for #frutigeraero on TikTok.

Sofi Xian, a researcher and founding member of an online community called the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, coined the term Frutiger Aero in 2017 to describe a corporate tech aesthetic prevalent from the mid-2000s through the early 2010s. Some defining characteristics included glossy surfaces, glass or transparent materials, and macro photos of grass. "Frutiger" refers to a specific typeface, while "Aero" was Microsoft's name for the interface design of its Windows Vista operating system, which came out in 2006.

"Nobody at the time really thought it was cool," Xian said of the design style. "It was a corporate product. It was sold to us."

The recent embrace of Frutiger Aero remains somewhat of a mystery to Xian, who says the term has blossomed well beyond what she first documented. Her book on the style, "Archaeology of a Promised Future," is set to come out in November.

The modern version of the aesthetic still incorporates some of the classic elements, and then some. "Bliss," the iconic photo of rolling green hills beneath a bright blue sky with clouds — the default wallpaper on Windows XP upon its release in 2001 — remains an almost sacred image to Frutiger fans. Conti recently made a pilgrimage to the area in Sonoma County, California, and called it "just as beautiful as it is in the photos."

The future that never showed

"The future that was promised" is a central theme in the world of Frutiger Aero and is frequently invoked alongside images of clean, glistening skyscrapers set against grassy fields.

"It's really a vision of technology that is quite different to what we have," Maria Gemma Brown, a cultural studies researcher at the University of Queensland, told Business Insider.

Many young people now see technology as bland, lifeless, addictive, or even sinister. AI is increasingly associated with war, mass surveillance, and environmental degradation. Data centers, one of the most controversial physical manifestations of modern tech, face fierce opposition over environmental concerns.

Richy Srirachanikorn, a Ph.D. candidate at Concordia University, has interviewed more than 30 people in the Frutiger Aero community. He said it's about nostalgia for a feeling more than about the specific objects or design that inspired it.

"Whatever this aesthetic was as a kid, it made me optimistic, not about the future, but about the present," he said was how the people he interviewed described it.

That could help explain why it's especially appealing to Gen Z, a generation rife with concerns about environmental, technological, and financial doom. Srirachanikorn said he found Frutiger Aero is used almost as a "coping mechanism" and the associated online communities as places to take "respite from the uncertainties of the world."

Lovers of Frutiger Aero are also rejecting a broader design shift toward minimalism and neutral colors. In consumer tech, translucent clamshell laptops and bright pink MP3 players have given way to sleek, uniformly gray designs, as if they're explicitly meant to disappear into the background of our lives.

"I feel like products had almost a personality. Which color you picked or what design you picked was a loud extension of you," Conti said, adding that now it feels like everything merely wants to "fit in."

The old-school tech may also represent a level of agency that feels unattainable now, Srirachanikorn said. In the early 2000s, consumer tech companies may have embraced bright colors and images of nature to make their products more appealing as they still needed us to buy in. Today, their products are almost impossible to escape.

Hope for a new bloom

Austin Horey, founder of the New York-based brand Unjust Jewelry, makes a range of products inspired by Frutiger Aero and similar strains of nostalgia. He's sold over 10,000 bottles of a Frutiger Aero-inspired fragrance — oceanic, clean, soapy — that comes in a box that, when opened, plays an original Frutiger Aero-inspired song.

Horey said not only is there a huge appetite for Frutiger Aero content and products, but that major tech companies seem to be taking notice. His work has been embraced by an icon of the Frutiger Aero movement: Microsoft. When he released a Windows XP bracelet featuring the classic application icons from the operating system, the company partnered with him to make a necklace as well.

Fans of Frutiger Aero celebrate every time Big Tech makes a move they think signals a return to the aesthetic, like Xbox introducing a new glossy neon-green logo and the release of the budget-friendly Apple MacBook Neo, which comes in a bright yellow-green. Apple's introduction of the Liquid Glass design last year also set off the Frutiger Aero antennae. Microsoft even posted a TikTok suggesting the design was reminiscent of Windows Vista.

Conti said the colorful MacBook Neo was the most Frutiger Aero product a tech company had released in years. While she's been disappointed in modern tech, the underlying vibe of Frutiger Aero is one of optimism, and she still sees the ideas behind it as something to strive for, "especially as Gen Z moves into these positions of power as we get older."

"I think it's important not to forget what it still could be," she said.

Pole, vittoria nella Sprint e ritorno in testa al Mondiale: Marc Marquez si prende il sabato di Phillip Island e vede il decimo titolo sempre più vicino. Jorge Martin finisce invece in barella dopo una caduta all’ottavo giro, mentre lottava con il rivale. Il pilota Aprilia è stato dichiarato non idoneo per il Gp d’Australia di domenica: ha una duplice frattura e rischia l’operazione. L’impressione è che questo sabato abbia deciso la corsa al Mondiale di MotoGp 2026.

Martin stava dando spettacolo, poi lo schianto. Le radiografie al centro medico del circuito hanno rivelato, comunica Aprilia, “una frattura del radio e una sospetta frattura dell’ulna all’estremità distale, ovvero una frattura confermata di una delle due ossa dell’avambraccio vicino al polso, con una seconda frattura sospetta anche all’altro osso dell’avambraccio”. Martin dovrà sottoporsi ad altri esami a Melbourne; è in dubbio anche per la Malesia della prossima settimana. “Peccato per la caduta. Ora andiamo a Melbourne e vediamo che esami fare. L’importante è non avere niente di grave, perché la caduta è stata molto pericolosa”, ha detto il pilota spagnolo.

Marquez ha rivolto il primo pensiero all’avversario: “Prima di tutto voglio dire che spero che Martin stia bene“. E ha aggiunto: “Lo dico per il bene del campionato”. Poi il racconto del duello: “Sapevo che avrei dovuto lottare con lui, che sarebbe arrivato, certo non mi aspettavo di trovarmelo davanti già al terzo giro“. “È stata una lotta bella, pulita. Jorge era più veloce di me nell’ultima curva. Di solito sono forte in quel punto, oggi col vento faticavo. Eravamo tutti e due al limite, in quel momento stavo guidando in maniera pulita per non consumare troppo la gomma anteriore”, ha spiegato Marquez.

Il campione della Ducati però ha come sempre gestito tutto alla perfezione e dopo la caduta di Martin ha avuto alle spalle il fedele fratello Alex a proteggere la sua prima posizione. Sul podio hanno chiuso infatti altre due Ducati: quella appunto di Alex Marquez e Fabio Di Giannantonio. Per l’Aprilia l’unica magrissima consolazione è la rimonta di Marco Bezzecchi: ha recuperato cinque posizioni, dal nono al quarto posto, davanti a Pedro Acosta. In classifica Marquez però è lontanissimo: sale a 365 punti, con 10 lunghezze di vantaggio su Martin e 50 su Bezzecchi. In più, partirà dalla pole anche nel gran premio di domenica dopo aver dominato le qualifiche.

L'articolo MotoGp, Marquez si prende tutto: vince la Sprint e ha in tasca il Mondiale. Violenta caduta per Martin: fratture e rischio operazione | La nuova classifica proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Em outubro, o Cineteatro Louletano reinventa-se e aposta de novo em programação de referência, cruzando música, dança, teatro, cinema e espetáculos multidisciplinares.

A 25 de outubro, domingo, às 11h30, há “Jazz para Famílias”, no Auditório do Solar da Música Nova, pelo Trio da Orquestra de Jazz do Algarve. É um concerto comentado,  para uma primeira descoberta do universo do jazz, de forma descontraída e interativa. Entre interpretações ao vivo e curiosidades sobre os instrumentos, os estilos e a improvisação, as famílias são convidadas a trazer os mais novos (maiores de 10 anos).

Também a 25, mas pelas 17h00, o Cineteatro Louletano recebe, uma vez mais, o “Concerto pela Paz”, organizado pelo Conselho Português para a Paz e Cooperação. É às 17h00, e a entrada é gratuita. 

E por fim, a 30 e a 31, a bailarina e coreógrafa Maria Fonseca traz a Loulé ATA, um espetáculo que trabalha o tema da morte, investigando novas formas de presença, cuidado e ritual, abrindo espaço para outras maneiras de habitar a morte como parte da vida. A sessão de dia 30, às 14h30, é reservada a lares e instituições particulares de solidariedade social (IPSS). A de dia 31, sábado, é às 17h00, dedicada ao público em geral.

O conteúdo Programação Cineteatro Louletano – Outubro Parte 3 aparece primeiro em Sempre à Mão.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla on Friday rejected a new threat from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said U.S. ships would make a “small stop” off the island on their return from Iran.

President Donald Trump has issued a new threat against Cuba as U.S. officials reportedly press ahead with military planning for the Caribbean country, an escalation that coincides with an intensified oil blockade and UN vote scheduled for October 28.

At a campaign rally in Fort Myers, the Republican President laid out his plan in vivid terms. “What we are going to do with Cuba is we are going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships, we will pass by Cuba, we will have one of them stop about 50 yards (45 meters) from the coast. They will raise their hands and then we will send Marco Rubio to close the deal,” he said.

RELATED: Cuba Denounces U.S. Pressure Ahead of the UN Assembly Vote On Economic Blockade

The U.S. President closed the scene with a concrete promise: “We will take care of Cuba on our return from Iran. We will make a small stop.”

Cuba answered on X. “We reject all threats related to the ambitions of United States toward Cuba,“ wrote the Caribbean nation’s FM Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

He added a description of the coastline that carried an unmistakable warning. “Our coastline is full of beautiful beaches, but there ara also razor-sharp limestone spikes,” he said, referring to the karst rock formations along the shore. “Inhospitable to those who arrive with hostile intentions and dreams of domination,” he warned. The jagged coastal limestone, sharp and cutting, gave the response its edge.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio used the same platform to urge those pushing for “change” on the island to engage in “discreet collaboration with the CIA.” In August, The New York Times reported that the intelligence agency had secretly set up a task force focused on Cuba.

The threat came amid a heated campaign in a state that is home to the largest Cuban community in United States. Its lawmakers and an influential segment of that community shape Washington’s decisions on Cuba.

Rodriguez Parrilla’s post also echoes another phrase from the current U.S. President. In March, speaking at the White House, Trump said he would have “the honor of taking Cuba” and that he “could do whatever he wanted with it.” He described Cuba then as a beautiful place, with “good land, landscapes, wonderful weather and great potential for tourism centers.”

On that occasion his unfamiliarity with the territory was on display. He argued that taking control would be good because the country is “not in the path of hurricanes.” “They won’t ask us for money for hurricanes every week,” he said in that time.

Passing by the island after Iran is not a new idea. In early May, while signing the Executive Order that launched an unprecedented wave of unilateral and illegal penalties against Cuba, Trump had already spoken of “taking control” once his military objectives in Iran were met. Following that, he has promised the war will end “immediately” after the November 3 elections, without explaining how.

The new threat coincides with the campaign Rubio himself is leading to sway the votes of UN member states on the resolution against the blockade against Cuba. In a recent press conference, Rodriguez Parrilla denounced the pressures and threats against governments to make them change their position.

In recent weeks the U.S. administration has seized fuel shipments bound for Cuba as part of an oil blockade. The campaign against Cuba’s international medical cooperation has intensified in parallel.

Elections Add Pressure

The escalation arrives at a difficult political moment for the U.S. President. Midterm elections take place on November 3, and the Republican Party could lose control of Congress. Trump’s approval has sagged, and a majority of voters now reject his management of the country’s main fronts, a rejection that cuts across every issue.

The domestic scenario is complicated further by the conflict with Iran. Tehran retains control of the Strait of Hormuz and has inflicted significant destruction on U.S. military bases in West Asia.

Fuel prices keep climbing in the meantime. The increase strikes U.S. households directly, and every rise deepens the damage to the President’s public standing at a moment when he can least afford it.

The pattern toward Cuba has hardened even as those pressures mount at home. The fuel seizures, the diplomatic campaign and the military planning all point in the same direction, toward an increasingly explicit posture of confrontation against the island.

With the United Nations vote set for October 28 and the U.S. midterm elections following days later on November 3, the coming weeks will reveal whether the planning described in U.S. media translates into further concrete action against Cuba, or whether it remains a lever of pressure in a campaign that already weighs heavily on the island.

Venezuela’s Acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, inspected progress Friday on a package of 17 oil agreements signed with the United States, as the state of Zulia reported record output of 115,000 barrels per day.

The inspection covered joint projects aimed at extracting crude from national reserves. Eight of the 17 agreements involve the development of so-called green fields, new areas set aside for exploration and exploitation.

“We want to show the country the progress, to make clear that we do not leave things unfinished, that we go further: to action and to production. Once again, Zulia state broke its production record, reaching 115,000 barrels per day today,” Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said.

RELATED: U.S. Removes Venezuela From List of Countries Subject to Investment Restrictions

Rodriguez added that projections call for closing December at 120,000 barrels. The Acting President framed the tour as proof that the partnership has moved beyond paperwork into concrete output.

The cooperation framework was signed in August through North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP). The 17 strategic agreements target the extraction of 65 million barrels of crude from Venezuela’s reserves.

On maritime infrastructure and logistics, Rodriguez said activity in Zulia will jump from 100 to 900 vessels, an increase of 800% in mobilized capacity. The figure signals a major expansion of port and transport operations tied to the oil sector.

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The Acting President also outlined a plan for the progressive creation of jobs driven by industrial activity. Employment will begin in the food sector, continue in ironworks and industrial areas, and later extend to public accounts with the goal of raising working-class incomes.

Rodríguez said the central objective of the alliance is to develop the hydrocarbon industry and consolidate the country’s sovereign position. She stressed that Venezuela seeks to affirm itself as the nation with the largest oil reserves on the planet and to rank among the world’s leading producers and exporters. “We want to show the country the progress of these agreements,” she said.

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Benefits For People

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez insisted that rising production must translate directly into the welfare of the population. Following this, she pointed to concrete areas where the gains should appear: “In the daily life of Venezuelan men and women: in pay for workers, in health, public hospitals, schools, food, roads, water and public services. That is where Venezuela’s development goes,” she said.

The comments link oil revenue to social spending at a time when the government has promised greater transparency over hydrocarbon and mining income. The Acting President’s emphasis on hospitals, schools and food echoes longstanding official messaging that resource wealth should fund public services.

The Zulia figures mark a significant benchmark for the country’s oil industry, which has sought to recover output after years of decline. The jump from 100 to 900 vessels suggests broader commercial activity around the crude operations, beyond the wells themselves.

Eight green-field projects form part of the package, indicating that the partnership extends into undeveloped territory rather than relying solely on existing infrastructure. Rodríguez described the agreements as a path toward consolidating Venezuela’s position in global energy markets.

The inspection tour took place as the government pushes to showcase tangible results from the August accords. The Acting President’s visit to the field operations was intended to demonstrate that the agreements are generating activity on the ground, not only on paper.

The production target of 120,000 barrels by December would extend the record reported Friday. If achieved, it would reinforce the government’s narrative of recovery built around the US partnership and the state of Zulia’s role as the engine of national output.

Rodríguez closed her remarks by linking the oil gains to broader national development, arguing that the industry’s expansion must reach Venezuelans through wages and public services rather than remaining confined to export statistics.