The United States has issued a stark warning to Cuba, cautioning that any attempt to obtain weaponry capable of reaching the Guantánamo Bay naval base or the US mainland would be an act of folly, triggering a conflict Havana is ill-equipped to handle.
Pentagon chief issues direct warning to Havana
The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, said on Thursday that it would be “unwise” for the Cuban government to seek or gain access to arms with the range to threaten American territory or the base at Guantánamo.
“The government of Cuba would be ill-advised to try to acquire or gain access to weaponry capable of reaching that base or US territory,” Hegseth stated. He also warned that such a move would provoke a confrontation that Havana “not only does not want, but would also be unable to sustain.”
Trump administration escalates rhetoric against Cuban regime
On June 5, President Donald Trump declared that, following the resolution of the ongoing conflict with Iran, the United States would set its sights on regime change in Cuba. He described the island’s leadership as a “very harsh and unpleasant regime.”
In late April, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Cuban authorities of allowing intelligence operatives from nations hostile to Washington to use Cuban territory. He stressed that the US could not tolerate its adversaries stationing spies or military assets a mere 90 miles from its shores.
Death penalty threat and historic downing of civilian aircraft
On May 20, the US Department of Justice announced that it would seek the death penalty or life imprisonment for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Cuba’s government dismissed the charges as a political provocation, with the foreign minister branding the case against Castro a farce.
The charges relate to the February 24, 1996 attack on two Cessna aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a group of Cuban exiles that searched for migrants in the Florida Straits. The planes were shot down by missiles fired from Cuban fighter jets, killing Armando Alejandre Jr, Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales.
State of emergency and threats of military action
On January 30, President Trump declared a national emergency in the US, citing an alleged threat to national security posed by Cuba. He argued that US military action against the island was a matter of time, insisting that Washington needed to topple a regime he accused of shielding drug cartels.
Trump further remarked that the United States could “turn its gaze” to Cuba once the Iranian conflict had been dealt with.
