US-Cuba relations

Report: Cuba may use Russian drones against the US

Cuba has purchased around 300 Russian and Iranian attack drones and is considering using them against the US, according to classified intelligence obtained by Axios.

– It is a growing threat, says a senior US government source.

Cuba has reportedly gradually built up its drone stockpile since 2023, and has deployed them in strategic locations on the island. Possible targets are said to be the Guantanamo Bay military base, US warships or the island of Key West off the southern tip of Florida.

Analysis: Cuba is preparing for a US invasion

Cubans have lived with the threat of a US invasion for so long that it has become a standing joke – but now the tone is more serious, writes Patrick Oppmann for CNN.

The US has steadily increased the pressure, including a fuel blockade, an unfriendly visit from the CIA director and threats of prosecution against former President Raúl Castro, he continues.

“The US has used the carrot and the stick in recent months, with offers of emergency aid or economic pressure, but now carrots no longer seem to be on the menu.”

Cuban property owners have been instructed to develop action plans in the event of an invasion, and state television is showing footage of military training, Oppmann writes.

After decades of tensions, and after the US capture of Maduro in Venezuela and the deadly attack on Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran, many of Trump’s allies want him to bring the Cuban regime to its knees once and for all. Ryan Mancini writes in an analytical text in The Hill.

“But Cuban authorities have stood their ground against American demands. Last month, President Miguel Díaz-Canel equated the US blockade with genocide.”

Cuba has repeatedly tried to convince the United States that they are not a threat, but is adamant that they will defend themselves militarily to the last, Mancini writes.