Cuba, which has acquired more than 300 military drones, recently began discussing plans to use them for a potential attack on the US base in Guantanamo Bay, on some US military ships and possibly on Key West, Florida, an area located about 145 kilometers north of Havana, claims the publication Axios citing classified information it received, according to Reuters.
A high-ranking American official explained that the information, which could become a pretext for possible American military action, shows the extent to which the Trump administration sees Cuba as a threat, due to developments in the field of drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisers in Havana.
“When you think about these types of technologies being so close to a range of bad actors, from terrorist groups to criminal cartels, Iranians and Russians, it's worrying,” the official pointed out.
“It's a growing threat,” he stressed.
US officials say Cuban authorities have bought attack drones of “varied capabilities” from Russia and Iran starting in 2023 and have stored them in strategic locations on the island.
The head of the CIA was in Cuba
CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba on Thursday and warned local officials not to engage in hostilities. He urged them to renounce totalitarian rule to escape US sanctions, a US intelligence official told Axios.
“Director Ratcliffe has made it clear about Cuba that it can no longer serve as a platform for adversaries promoting hostile agendas in our hemisphere,” the official said.
“The Western Hemisphere cannot be our adversaries' playground,” he added.
The US imposed an energy blockade on the communist-ruled island, depriving it of fuel. Havana is facing its worst power outages in decades, and Cubans took to the streets Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Romania) to protest.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump called Cuba a “failed state”, saying Havana was asking for help and talks would take place.
In all this context, the Cuban authorities published a “family guide” on local official websites, teaching citizens how to survive “potential enemy attacks”.
