How Trump is 'laying the groundwork for military action' in Cuba: expert
A 3D printed miniature of U.S. President Donald Trump and Cuban flag are seen in this illustration taken January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A 3D printed miniature of U.S. President Donald Trump and Cuban flag are seen in this illustration taken January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
May 20, 2026
ALTERNET
The Justice Department announced that it is indicting Cuban official Raúl Castro for a late 1996 murder as part of its campaign against the communist island. One global affairs reporter is warning that this is likely a pretext for another war from President Donald Trump.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Sabrina Singh, who previously served in the Biden administration as the Pentagon press secretary, was asked whether the administration was using a kind of "Venezuelan model" applied to Cuba. In Venezuela, Trump ordered the military to invade briefly and capture Nicolás Maduro for a trial in the U.S.
"I think this administration is edging closer towards that Venezuela model. I think they are laying the groundwork and making the legal case, this time to the American public, on why they might need to take military action in Cuba," said Singh.
With the indictment, reported on Wednesday, she said that she is eager to see what Trump would say is an "easy win in Cuba."
"I don't think it's going to be exactly what he thinks it is," Singh continued. "It's not necessarily every operation is going to follow the Venezuela model, but if they can do a targeted strike or an extraction that could be perceived as a win for this administration, who's sort of trying to change the narrative around Iran right now. And I think that looms over any action in Cuba."
If the U.S. began an action in Cuba, it would unfold at the same time it continues a war in Iran. While there is currently a loose ceasefire, Trump hasn't managed to make a long-term deal similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) crafted by former President Barack Obama's administration along with five other countries.
Former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams said that the alleged Castro crime happened in international waters, but since Castro killed an American, it would give the U.S. jurisdiction to prosecute.
There is a challenge with the case; however, it's so old that many people who could have been involved are likely gone or have forgotten so much.
"You're talking about the kinds of things that Patrick talked about, witnesses that are three decades old from the time it happened, quote, unquote, lay down their lives for this person. Or aren't around anymore. And also, number two, the big piece of evidence is a recording that is three decades old, ostensibly of his voice," said Williams.
The Justice Department announced that it is indicting Cuban official Raúl Castro for a late 1996 murder as part of its campaign against the communist island. One global affairs reporter is warning that this is likely a pretext for another war from President Donald Trump.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Sabrina Singh, who previously served in the Biden administration as the Pentagon press secretary, was asked whether the administration was using a kind of "Venezuelan model" applied to Cuba. In Venezuela, Trump ordered the military to invade briefly and capture Nicolás Maduro for a trial in the U.S.
"I think this administration is edging closer towards that Venezuela model. I think they are laying the groundwork and making the legal case, this time to the American public, on why they might need to take military action in Cuba," said Singh.
With the indictment, reported on Wednesday, she said that she is eager to see what Trump would say is an "easy win in Cuba."
"I don't think it's going to be exactly what he thinks it is," Singh continued. "It's not necessarily every operation is going to follow the Venezuela model, but if they can do a targeted strike or an extraction that could be perceived as a win for this administration, who's sort of trying to change the narrative around Iran right now. And I think that looms over any action in Cuba."
If the U.S. began an action in Cuba, it would unfold at the same time it continues a war in Iran. While there is currently a loose ceasefire, Trump hasn't managed to make a long-term deal similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) crafted by former President Barack Obama's administration along with five other countries.
Former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams said that the alleged Castro crime happened in international waters, but since Castro killed an American, it would give the U.S. jurisdiction to prosecute.
There is a challenge with the case; however, it's so old that many people who could have been involved are likely gone or have forgotten so much.
"You're talking about the kinds of things that Patrick talked about, witnesses that are three decades old from the time it happened, quote, unquote, lay down their lives for this person. Or aren't around anymore. And also, number two, the big piece of evidence is a recording that is three decades old, ostensibly of his voice," said Williams.
Cuba Denounces ‘Cruel and Ruthless Aggression’ of US as White House Indicts Raúl Castro
In a speech described as “Orwellian,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Cuba’s suffering on the military-run company founded by Fidel Castro’s brother.
Cuba’s former President Raúl Castro (C) and former Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura (R) attend a May Day rally marking International Workers’ Day in Havana on May 1, 2026.
(Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Stephen Prager
May 20, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
As the US Justice Department indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on Wednesday in what could be a prelude to military action, the Cuban government denounced the US for “cruel and ruthless aggression.”
The 94-year-old Castro, who served as Cuba’s leader until 2021 after taking over for his brother Fidel in 2008, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals for his alleged role in the shooting down of planes operated by the anti-Castro Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four Cuban Americans.
“For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said as he announced the charges at Miami’s Freedom Tower. “My message today is clear: The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens.”
While Blanche described the four men as “unarmed civilians,” the Cuban government said the group had repeatedly violated its sovereign airspace and that it had warned the US government before shooting down the plane.
Declassified documents from a month before the incident show that officials in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) viewed the Brothers’ activities as “taunting” and feared the Cuban government might shoot a plane down.
“Is a sovereign state like Cuba obligated to tolerate illegal and continuous incursions into its territory? Under no circumstances,” the Cuban embassy in the US said in a statement published on Wednesday on social media. “International law and global civil aviation conventions protect the sovereignty of nations over their airspace.”
“When formal warnings to the [International Civil Aviation Organization], the FAA, and political authorities are sustainedly ignored, the defense of borders and national security becomes an unavoidable duty for the protection of the country.”
The indictment comes as the Trump administration issues threats that have been widely interpreted as signals that another military regime change operation could soon be on the horizon, following the administration’s attacks on Venezuela and Iran already this year.
“CUBA IS NEXT! Thank you [President Donald Trump] and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio]!” cheered US Rep. Carlos Giminez (R-Fla.), one of many Miami-based politicians who have called for aggressive action by the Trump administration against Cuba in recent days.
He was responding to a video posted by Rubio on Wednesday directed at the Cuban people in which he again denied that the crippling oil blockade imposed on Cuba by Trump bore any responsibility for the economic ruin the island’s population currently faces.
After effectively cutting off Cuba’s primary supplier of oil in January when the US conducted its illegal operation to abduct Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs on any country that provided oil to Cuba, scaring off its other main suppliers, including Mexico, Russia, and Algeria. Last week, Cuba’s energy minister announced that the country had “absolutely no fuel oil, no diesel.”
But Rubio told the Cuban people in Spanish on Wednesday: “The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the US. As you know better than anyone else, you have been suffering from blackouts for years. The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel, or food is that those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.”
He specifically laid the blame at the feet of the accused, the military-run company Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), founded by Raúl Castro in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The company has come to control large swathes of the Cuban economy, from hotels and grocery stores to gas stations and banks, and is estimated to control between 40-70% of Cuba’s overall economy, according to a recent New York Times report—though the secrecy of the organization makes it difficult to determine its true value.
Rubio said that the entrepreneurs running GAESA “have $18 billion in assets and control 70% of Cuba’s economy,” which was first reported by the Miami Herald last year based on balance sheets obtained from the company. But the Cuban government and other critics have disputed this figure, arguing that it actually refers to Cuban pesos, which would make its holdings closer to about $746 million.
Regardless, Rubio omitted any mention of the fact that even prior to the oil blockade enacted in January by Trump, the US still had a strict trade embargo in place against Cuba for more than 60 years, which the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America has estimated cost the country more than $130 billion since it was imposed—more than the total gross domestic product of the entire country in 2020.
Rubio said on Wednesday the US was ready to open a “new chapter” with Cuba, but that the thing getting in the way was “those who control their country.”
In light of Trump’s persistent suggestions that he wants to “take” Cuba and “do anything I want with it,” the Cuban government described Rubio’s message as one meant to justify further US coercion.
“The reason why the US secretary of state lies so repeatedly and unscrupulously when referring to Cuba and trying to justify the aggression to which he subjects the Cuban people is not ignorance or incompetence,” said Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the deputy minister for foreign affairs in Cuba, in a social media post on Wednesday. “He knows full well that there is no excuse for such a cruel and ruthless aggression.”
Last week, the US offered to give Cuba $100 million in humanitarian assistance to deal with the crisis it has imposed through its oil blockade, but only if it agrees to “meaningful reforms” and “fundamental changes” to its government that would allow greater access to US companies.
Cuba’s current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, contended that an easier way to alleviate Cuba’s suffering would be “by lifting or easing the blockade, as it is well known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced.”
Update (2:00 pm ET): This story was updated to include comments from acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche following the announcement of a formal indictment on Wednesday.
In a speech described as “Orwellian,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Cuba’s suffering on the military-run company founded by Fidel Castro’s brother.
Cuba’s former President Raúl Castro (C) and former Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura (R) attend a May Day rally marking International Workers’ Day in Havana on May 1, 2026.
(Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Stephen Prager
May 20, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
As the US Justice Department indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on Wednesday in what could be a prelude to military action, the Cuban government denounced the US for “cruel and ruthless aggression.”
The 94-year-old Castro, who served as Cuba’s leader until 2021 after taking over for his brother Fidel in 2008, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals for his alleged role in the shooting down of planes operated by the anti-Castro Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four Cuban Americans.
“For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said as he announced the charges at Miami’s Freedom Tower. “My message today is clear: The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens.”
While Blanche described the four men as “unarmed civilians,” the Cuban government said the group had repeatedly violated its sovereign airspace and that it had warned the US government before shooting down the plane.
Declassified documents from a month before the incident show that officials in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) viewed the Brothers’ activities as “taunting” and feared the Cuban government might shoot a plane down.
“Is a sovereign state like Cuba obligated to tolerate illegal and continuous incursions into its territory? Under no circumstances,” the Cuban embassy in the US said in a statement published on Wednesday on social media. “International law and global civil aviation conventions protect the sovereignty of nations over their airspace.”
“When formal warnings to the [International Civil Aviation Organization], the FAA, and political authorities are sustainedly ignored, the defense of borders and national security becomes an unavoidable duty for the protection of the country.”
The indictment comes as the Trump administration issues threats that have been widely interpreted as signals that another military regime change operation could soon be on the horizon, following the administration’s attacks on Venezuela and Iran already this year.
“CUBA IS NEXT! Thank you [President Donald Trump] and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio]!” cheered US Rep. Carlos Giminez (R-Fla.), one of many Miami-based politicians who have called for aggressive action by the Trump administration against Cuba in recent days.
He was responding to a video posted by Rubio on Wednesday directed at the Cuban people in which he again denied that the crippling oil blockade imposed on Cuba by Trump bore any responsibility for the economic ruin the island’s population currently faces.
After effectively cutting off Cuba’s primary supplier of oil in January when the US conducted its illegal operation to abduct Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs on any country that provided oil to Cuba, scaring off its other main suppliers, including Mexico, Russia, and Algeria. Last week, Cuba’s energy minister announced that the country had “absolutely no fuel oil, no diesel.”
But Rubio told the Cuban people in Spanish on Wednesday: “The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the US. As you know better than anyone else, you have been suffering from blackouts for years. The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel, or food is that those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.”
He specifically laid the blame at the feet of the accused, the military-run company Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), founded by Raúl Castro in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The company has come to control large swathes of the Cuban economy, from hotels and grocery stores to gas stations and banks, and is estimated to control between 40-70% of Cuba’s overall economy, according to a recent New York Times report—though the secrecy of the organization makes it difficult to determine its true value.
Rubio said that the entrepreneurs running GAESA “have $18 billion in assets and control 70% of Cuba’s economy,” which was first reported by the Miami Herald last year based on balance sheets obtained from the company. But the Cuban government and other critics have disputed this figure, arguing that it actually refers to Cuban pesos, which would make its holdings closer to about $746 million.
Regardless, Rubio omitted any mention of the fact that even prior to the oil blockade enacted in January by Trump, the US still had a strict trade embargo in place against Cuba for more than 60 years, which the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America has estimated cost the country more than $130 billion since it was imposed—more than the total gross domestic product of the entire country in 2020.
Rubio said on Wednesday the US was ready to open a “new chapter” with Cuba, but that the thing getting in the way was “those who control their country.”
In light of Trump’s persistent suggestions that he wants to “take” Cuba and “do anything I want with it,” the Cuban government described Rubio’s message as one meant to justify further US coercion.
“The reason why the US secretary of state lies so repeatedly and unscrupulously when referring to Cuba and trying to justify the aggression to which he subjects the Cuban people is not ignorance or incompetence,” said Carlos Fernández de Cossío, the deputy minister for foreign affairs in Cuba, in a social media post on Wednesday. “He knows full well that there is no excuse for such a cruel and ruthless aggression.”
Last week, the US offered to give Cuba $100 million in humanitarian assistance to deal with the crisis it has imposed through its oil blockade, but only if it agrees to “meaningful reforms” and “fundamental changes” to its government that would allow greater access to US companies.
Cuba’s current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, contended that an easier way to alleviate Cuba’s suffering would be “by lifting or easing the blockade, as it is well known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced.”
Update (2:00 pm ET): This story was updated to include comments from acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche following the announcement of a formal indictment on Wednesday.
Rubio offers Cubans ‘new path’ in special video address
By AFP
May 20, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a White House briefing in May 2026 - Copyright AFP/File Kent NISHIMURA
Maria DANILOVA
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a “new path” in a special video address Wednesday hours before Washington was expected to criminally indict the island’s former leader Raul Castro.
Addressing the Cuban people directly in Spanish, Rubio accused the country’s communist leadership of theft, corruption and oppression.
“President (Donald) Trump is offering a new path between the US and a new Cuba,” said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants.
“A new Cuba where you have a real opportunity to choose who governs your country and vote to replace them if they are not doing a good job.”
Tensions between Washington and Havana have spiked in recent months since US forces ousted Cuba’s regional ally Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a military raid and then imposed a painful energy blockade on the already economically struggling island nation.
Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be next to fall, and earlier this month even said Washington would be “taking over” the Caribbean island, only around 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, “almost immediately.”
“In the US, we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries,” Rubio said, according to an official English translation of his speech published by the State Department. “And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”
In his speech, Rubio accused Gaesa, the military-backed conglomerate estimated to control some 40 percent of the Cuban economy, of enriching the elites at the expense of ordinary citizens.
“A ‘state within the state’ that is accountable to no one and hoards the profits from its businesses for the benefit of a small elite,” Rubio charged. “And the only role played by the so-called ‘government’ is to demand that you continue making ‘sacrifices’ and repressing anyone who dares to complain.”
The US Justice Department was expected on Wednesday to announce criminal charges against 94-year-old Raul Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel as president of Cuba and oversaw a historic 2015 rapprochement with the United States under Barack Obama that Trump later reversed.
CBS News reported that the possible indictment would focus on the 1996 downing of two civilian planes manned by anti-Castro pilots, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
By AFP
May 20, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a White House briefing in May 2026 - Copyright AFP/File Kent NISHIMURA
Maria DANILOVA
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a “new path” in a special video address Wednesday hours before Washington was expected to criminally indict the island’s former leader Raul Castro.
Addressing the Cuban people directly in Spanish, Rubio accused the country’s communist leadership of theft, corruption and oppression.
“President (Donald) Trump is offering a new path between the US and a new Cuba,” said Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants.
“A new Cuba where you have a real opportunity to choose who governs your country and vote to replace them if they are not doing a good job.”
Tensions between Washington and Havana have spiked in recent months since US forces ousted Cuba’s regional ally Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a military raid and then imposed a painful energy blockade on the already economically struggling island nation.
Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be next to fall, and earlier this month even said Washington would be “taking over” the Caribbean island, only around 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, “almost immediately.”
“In the US, we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries,” Rubio said, according to an official English translation of his speech published by the State Department. “And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”
In his speech, Rubio accused Gaesa, the military-backed conglomerate estimated to control some 40 percent of the Cuban economy, of enriching the elites at the expense of ordinary citizens.
“A ‘state within the state’ that is accountable to no one and hoards the profits from its businesses for the benefit of a small elite,” Rubio charged. “And the only role played by the so-called ‘government’ is to demand that you continue making ‘sacrifices’ and repressing anyone who dares to complain.”
The US Justice Department was expected on Wednesday to announce criminal charges against 94-year-old Raul Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel as president of Cuba and oversaw a historic 2015 rapprochement with the United States under Barack Obama that Trump later reversed.
CBS News reported that the possible indictment would focus on the 1996 downing of two civilian planes manned by anti-Castro pilots, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
US says held talks with Cuba on $100 mln offer
By AFP
May 19, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sworn foe of Havana's communist government, has publicly offered the $100 million but has demanded that Cuba take steps to open up - Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE
The United States and Cuba held talks this week on a US offer of $100 million in assistance, which Washington has dangled as an incentive for reforms, a US official said Tuesday.
Mike Hammer, the acting US ambassador to Havana, met Monday with foreign ministry officials, the State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
“We have been in close coordination with the Cubans. We had a meeting yesterday (Monday) and continue to pursue that proposal aggressively, contrary to some of the lies of the Cuban ministry of foreign affairs,” the official said.
“We continue to urge the regime to accept the proposal and try to prevent interference with the delivery of assistance,” he said.
The aid would be distributed through Catholic Relief Services and Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Protestant charity, and not handed over directly to the Cuban government, he said.
“The Cuban regime is sitting on several billions of dollars,” he said. “We would urge them to use that money to actually help the Cuban people invest in their infrastructure instead of hoarding it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sworn foe of Havana’s communist government, has publicly offered the $100 million but has demanded that Cuba take steps to open up.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez last week said that Havana was open to reviewing the aid proposal, after earlier saying Rubio was lying about the offer.
Cuba has been in the throes of a major economic crisis with persistent energy blackouts after the United States overthrew Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro and ended the flow of free oil from Caracas in exchange for Cuban medical expertise and other services.
With the situation increasingly dire, Cuba — for decades targeted in US espionage — last week took the extraordinary step of welcoming CIA Director John Ratcliffe for talks.
By AFP
May 19, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sworn foe of Havana's communist government, has publicly offered the $100 million but has demanded that Cuba take steps to open up - Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE
The United States and Cuba held talks this week on a US offer of $100 million in assistance, which Washington has dangled as an incentive for reforms, a US official said Tuesday.
Mike Hammer, the acting US ambassador to Havana, met Monday with foreign ministry officials, the State Department official said on condition of anonymity.
“We have been in close coordination with the Cubans. We had a meeting yesterday (Monday) and continue to pursue that proposal aggressively, contrary to some of the lies of the Cuban ministry of foreign affairs,” the official said.
“We continue to urge the regime to accept the proposal and try to prevent interference with the delivery of assistance,” he said.
The aid would be distributed through Catholic Relief Services and Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Protestant charity, and not handed over directly to the Cuban government, he said.
“The Cuban regime is sitting on several billions of dollars,” he said. “We would urge them to use that money to actually help the Cuban people invest in their infrastructure instead of hoarding it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sworn foe of Havana’s communist government, has publicly offered the $100 million but has demanded that Cuba take steps to open up.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez last week said that Havana was open to reviewing the aid proposal, after earlier saying Rubio was lying about the offer.
Cuba has been in the throes of a major economic crisis with persistent energy blackouts after the United States overthrew Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro and ended the flow of free oil from Caracas in exchange for Cuban medical expertise and other services.
With the situation increasingly dire, Cuba — for decades targeted in US espionage — last week took the extraordinary step of welcoming CIA Director John Ratcliffe for talks.
“We will continue to denounce, in the firmest and most energetic way possible, the genocidal siege that seeks to strangle our people,” said President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Alfredo Rodriguez, an industrial designer and professor, studies during a power cut in Punta Brava, Havana, Cuba on May 11, 2026.
(Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
May 19, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Cuba’s president said Monday night that the Trump administration should be “criminally prosecuted” for its continued economic war on the island nation, saying the oil blockade that began more than three months ago as well as new sanctions are part of a “collective punishment” policy that amounts to an “act of genocide.”
President Miguel Díaz-Canel suggested that the White House was aware that its latest round of sanctions against Cuban officials was unnecessary, noting that “there isn’t even any evidence to present”—but said the new measures announced by the State Department on Monday were a way of furthering “anti-Cuban rhetoric of hate... to justify the escalation of its total economic war.”
“Under the leadership of our party, state, government, and its military institutions, no one has any assets or property to protect under US jurisdiction. The US government knows this full well,” said Díaz-Canel. “That’s why we will continue to denounce, in the firmest and most energetic way possible, the genocidal siege that seeks to strangle our people.”
Díaz-Canel spoke out after the administration said it was imposing sanctions on the Cuban intelligence agency and nine Cuban officials, including the country’s ministers for communications, energy, and justice, and three military generals. Several officials in the Communist Party of Cuba were also sanctioned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants and has long pushed for regime change in the communist country, released a statement saying those targeted by the sanctions “are responsible for or have been involved in repressing the Cuban people.”
“These sanctions advance the Trump administration’s comprehensive campaign to address the pressing national security threats posed by Cuba’s communist regime,” said Rubio.
The sanctions were announced a day after a White House official claimed to Axios that Cuban officials are “discussing plans” for drone attacks on the US; the outlet acknowledged several paragraphs into its article on the alleged threat that Cuba is believed to be strategizing for a defensive attack as the US ramps up hostilities, rather than an unprovoked strike.
Díaz-Canel emphasized that the White House’s sanctions are only the latest action taken against Cuba following the “immoral, illegal, and criminal” executive order President Donald Trump signed in January, which threatened countries with tariffs if they provided fuel to Cuba—resulting in a severe energy shortage on the island, frequent rolling blackouts, and a crisis in the country’s healthcare system, with hospitals struggling to offer basic services. Farmers have said the shortage has left them unable to efficiently provide food to communities.
“We have absolutely no fuel and absolutely no diesel,” Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said last week.
Díaz-Canel said the US has pushed the blockade that has been in place for decades “to levels never seen before, penalizing companies that want to invest in Cuba or simply provide us with basic goods like food, medicines, hygiene products, or others.”
“The collective punishment to which the Cuban people are being subjected is an act of genocide that must be condemned by international organizations and criminally prosecuted against its promoters,” said the president.
He also expressed gratitude to the governments of Mexico and Uruguay, which sent a shipment of aid to Cuba on Monday.
“This donation, which arrives in very difficult days for Cuba due to the direct and multidimensional impact of the United States blockade on the daily life of our people, is a living testament to the historic solidarity between our peoples and to the principles of humanism, cooperation, and integration that must unite the region,” said Díaz-Canel.
The Trump administration’s invasion of Venezuela, abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, and takeover of its oil reserves in January cut Cuba off from its top energy supplier.
The US is reportedly now considering an indictment former Cuban President Raúl Castro for shooting down planes that belonged to a US group and violated Cuban airspace in 1996. Trump—who has attacked not only Venezuela but also Iran—has repeatedly mused about the possibility of invading Cuba.
Unlawful US Attack, Says Cuban President, ‘Would Trigger a Bloodbath With Incalculable Consequences’
“Cuba, which already endures a multidimensional aggression from the US, does have the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself against a military onslaught,” said President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel waves a national flag during celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the declaration of the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution in Havana on April 16, 2026.
(Photo by Adalberto Roque/AFP via Getty Images)
Stephen Prager
May 18, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
As the Trump administration seeks to justify a war with Cuba using what Cuban officials have called “increasingly implausible accusations” that it poses a danger to national security, President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned on Monday that an American assault would trigger a “bloodbath with incalculable consequences.”
US President Donald Trump has imposed a punishing fuel blockade on Cuba for months that has devastated the island’s civilian population with the explicit goal of forcing its government from power and has, on many occasions, threatened to use military force, including to outright “take” the island.
The densely populated island of nearly 11 million people is already in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as a result of “energy starvation” from the blockade, which has left the country’s renowned healthcare system struggling to function, with 100,000 patients awaiting surgery, according to a recent United Nations report.
“The threats of military aggression against Cuba from the world’s greatest power are well-known,” Díaz-Canel said in a post to social media on Monday. “The threat itself already constitutes an international crime. If it were to materialize, it would trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences, plus the destructive impact on regional peace and stability.”
His comments came after Axios reported Sunday on “classified intelligence” shared by unnamed senior US officials stating that Cuba possesses around 300 drones acquired from Russia and Iran and had been considering plans to attack the US military base at Guantánamo Bay, various US military vessels, and Key West, Florida.
Reporter Marc Caputo described the intelligence as a possible “pretext for US military action” against the island and quoted an unnamed senior official as saying it was “a growing threat.”
Republican legislators, particularly those in South Florida, have seized on the report to argue for even harsher action against Cuba. US Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Elvira Salazar both said it was further evidence that Cuba poses a “threat to national security.” Rep. Carlos Gimenez said it must be “dealt with accordingly.”
However, buried deep within the report was the acknowledgment that “US officials don’t believe Cuba is an imminent threat, or actively planning to attack American interests.” Rather, the drones would be reserved for a scenario in which “hostilities erupt” in the event of a US military attack, which has been telegraphed for weeks by the Trump administration.
Cuba has not denied having drones, with its embassy saying on Sunday that it “has the right to defend itself against external aggression.” But Cuba denied any intent to attack the US preemptively, saying that US officials were “distorting as extraordinary the logical preparation required to face a potential aggression.”
Díaz-Canel reiterated on Monday that Cuba “poses no threat, nor does it have aggressive plans or intentions against any country.”
“It has none against the US, nor has it ever had any—something the government of that nation knows full well, particularly its defense and national security agencies,” the Cuban president continued.
“Cuba, which already endures a multidimensional aggression from the US, does have the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself against a military onslaught,” he added. “Yet that cannot be wielded, either logically or honestly, as an excuse for imposing war on the noble Cuban people.”
“Cuba, which already endures a multidimensional aggression from the US, does have the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself against a military onslaught,” said President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel waves a national flag during celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the declaration of the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution in Havana on April 16, 2026.
(Photo by Adalberto Roque/AFP via Getty Images)
Stephen Prager
May 18, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
As the Trump administration seeks to justify a war with Cuba using what Cuban officials have called “increasingly implausible accusations” that it poses a danger to national security, President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned on Monday that an American assault would trigger a “bloodbath with incalculable consequences.”
US President Donald Trump has imposed a punishing fuel blockade on Cuba for months that has devastated the island’s civilian population with the explicit goal of forcing its government from power and has, on many occasions, threatened to use military force, including to outright “take” the island.
The densely populated island of nearly 11 million people is already in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as a result of “energy starvation” from the blockade, which has left the country’s renowned healthcare system struggling to function, with 100,000 patients awaiting surgery, according to a recent United Nations report.
“The threats of military aggression against Cuba from the world’s greatest power are well-known,” Díaz-Canel said in a post to social media on Monday. “The threat itself already constitutes an international crime. If it were to materialize, it would trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences, plus the destructive impact on regional peace and stability.”
His comments came after Axios reported Sunday on “classified intelligence” shared by unnamed senior US officials stating that Cuba possesses around 300 drones acquired from Russia and Iran and had been considering plans to attack the US military base at Guantánamo Bay, various US military vessels, and Key West, Florida.
Reporter Marc Caputo described the intelligence as a possible “pretext for US military action” against the island and quoted an unnamed senior official as saying it was “a growing threat.”
Republican legislators, particularly those in South Florida, have seized on the report to argue for even harsher action against Cuba. US Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Elvira Salazar both said it was further evidence that Cuba poses a “threat to national security.” Rep. Carlos Gimenez said it must be “dealt with accordingly.”
However, buried deep within the report was the acknowledgment that “US officials don’t believe Cuba is an imminent threat, or actively planning to attack American interests.” Rather, the drones would be reserved for a scenario in which “hostilities erupt” in the event of a US military attack, which has been telegraphed for weeks by the Trump administration.
Cuba has not denied having drones, with its embassy saying on Sunday that it “has the right to defend itself against external aggression.” But Cuba denied any intent to attack the US preemptively, saying that US officials were “distorting as extraordinary the logical preparation required to face a potential aggression.”
Díaz-Canel reiterated on Monday that Cuba “poses no threat, nor does it have aggressive plans or intentions against any country.”
“It has none against the US, nor has it ever had any—something the government of that nation knows full well, particularly its defense and national security agencies,” the Cuban president continued.
“Cuba, which already endures a multidimensional aggression from the US, does have the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself against a military onslaught,” he added. “Yet that cannot be wielded, either logically or honestly, as an excuse for imposing war on the noble Cuban people.”
Trump Admin Claims of Cuban Plans for Drone Attacks Denounced as ‘Ludicrous Pretext’ for War
“Like any country, Cuba has the right to defend itself against external aggression,” said the Cuban embassy. “It is called self-defense, and it is protected by International Law and the UN Charter.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as US President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
May 17, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Cuban officials said the Trump administration is making “increasingly implausible accusations” against the country as it pushes to justify, “without any excuse, a military attack against Cuba,” after an unnamed White House official told the news outlet Axios that the Cubans have been “discussing plans” to launch drones against the US.
“Cuba is the country under attack,” said the Cuban embassy in a statement, months into a ramped-up oil blockade by the US that has left the island’s electric grid in a “critical state” and forced frequent rolling blackouts as well as causing a healthcare crisis, with tens of thousands of people waiting for surgeries.
But in Axios’ article, the Trump administration official took pains to push the notion that the US, with its nearly $1 trillion-per-year military, could face attacks from the tiny Caribbean nation 90 miles south of Florida because officials there have been preparing defensive capabilities.
Axios reported that, according to classified intelligence it viewed, Cuba has acquired more than 300 drones and has been considering plans to attack the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, various US military vessels, and Key West, Florida.
The country has been acquiring drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and has sought more aid from Russia in recent months, according to the report. Intelligence intercepts have also shown Cuba is “trying to learn about how Iran has resisted us,” the official said, referring to Iran’s use of unmanned aircraft, its closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and its attacks on US military outposts in the Middle East in response to the US-Israel war on the country that began in February.
The Cuban embassy further responded with a reminder that “like any country, Cuba has the right to defend itself against external aggression.”
“Those from the US who seek the submission and, in fact, the destruction of the Cuban nation through military aggression and war, do not waste a single moment fabricating pretexts, creating and spreading falsehoods, and distorting as extraordinary the logical preparation required to face a potential aggression,” said the embassy.
Journalist José Luis Granados Ceja, who is based in Mexico City and covers Latin America for Drop Site News, emphasized that “Cuba has the right to self-defense.”
“It would be arguably be wise for Cuba to incorporate a tool that has proven to be an extraordinary effective weapon and a powerful tool of dissuasion as part of its self-defense strategy,” said Granados Ceja.
Axios said the classified intelligence “could become a pretext for US military action” that President Donald Trump has expressed an interest in taking numerous times, before acknowledging toward the end of the article that “US officials don’t believe Cuba is an imminent threat, or actively planning to attack American interests.”
Rather, the intelligence showed that Cuban officials “have been discussing drone warfare plans in case hostilities erupt as relations with the US continue to deteriorate”—suggesting they could use drones in self-defense if attacked by the US.
The reporting carried echoes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s rationale for attacking Iran in February. He stunned legal experts days after the war began by explaining that the US had decided to wage war on the Middle Eastern country because it feared Iran would retaliate after Israel began attacking it.
“The imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us,” Rubio said.
The claim that Cuba’s reported preparations make the island a threat to US security “is a lie—with purpose,” said David Adler, co-general coordinator of Progressive International.
“Marco Rubio and his stenographers at Axios are manufacturing consent for the invasion of Cuba,” said Adler. “To fall for this flimsy propaganda is to fail the most basic test of civic literacy. And the stakes are millions of Cuban lives off our coast.”
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long sought regime change in the socialist country.
Axios’ reporting came days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba to pressure officials into complying with US demands, likely including political and economic reforms, heightening fears that the US could be planning a military attack unless the country complies.
White House officials also told CBS News Friday that the Department of Justice is preparing to criminally indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro for shooting down planes that belonged to a US group that had flown into Cuba’s airspace in the 1990s. In January, US forces invaded Venezuela and abducted President Nicolás Maduro, bringing him to the US where he was charged with drug trafficking, and pleaded not guilty.
Former Obama administration staffer and Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor said Sunday that “lots of signals pointing towards an imminent US regime change operation against Cuba.”
“The latest,” he said of the Axios article, “is this blatant effort to launder a pretext for war through the media.”
“Like any country, Cuba has the right to defend itself against external aggression,” said the Cuban embassy. “It is called self-defense, and it is protected by International Law and the UN Charter.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as US President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
May 17, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Cuban officials said the Trump administration is making “increasingly implausible accusations” against the country as it pushes to justify, “without any excuse, a military attack against Cuba,” after an unnamed White House official told the news outlet Axios that the Cubans have been “discussing plans” to launch drones against the US.
“Cuba is the country under attack,” said the Cuban embassy in a statement, months into a ramped-up oil blockade by the US that has left the island’s electric grid in a “critical state” and forced frequent rolling blackouts as well as causing a healthcare crisis, with tens of thousands of people waiting for surgeries.
But in Axios’ article, the Trump administration official took pains to push the notion that the US, with its nearly $1 trillion-per-year military, could face attacks from the tiny Caribbean nation 90 miles south of Florida because officials there have been preparing defensive capabilities.
Axios reported that, according to classified intelligence it viewed, Cuba has acquired more than 300 drones and has been considering plans to attack the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, various US military vessels, and Key West, Florida.
The country has been acquiring drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and has sought more aid from Russia in recent months, according to the report. Intelligence intercepts have also shown Cuba is “trying to learn about how Iran has resisted us,” the official said, referring to Iran’s use of unmanned aircraft, its closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and its attacks on US military outposts in the Middle East in response to the US-Israel war on the country that began in February.
The Cuban embassy further responded with a reminder that “like any country, Cuba has the right to defend itself against external aggression.”
“Those from the US who seek the submission and, in fact, the destruction of the Cuban nation through military aggression and war, do not waste a single moment fabricating pretexts, creating and spreading falsehoods, and distorting as extraordinary the logical preparation required to face a potential aggression,” said the embassy.
Journalist José Luis Granados Ceja, who is based in Mexico City and covers Latin America for Drop Site News, emphasized that “Cuba has the right to self-defense.”
“It would be arguably be wise for Cuba to incorporate a tool that has proven to be an extraordinary effective weapon and a powerful tool of dissuasion as part of its self-defense strategy,” said Granados Ceja.
Axios said the classified intelligence “could become a pretext for US military action” that President Donald Trump has expressed an interest in taking numerous times, before acknowledging toward the end of the article that “US officials don’t believe Cuba is an imminent threat, or actively planning to attack American interests.”
Rather, the intelligence showed that Cuban officials “have been discussing drone warfare plans in case hostilities erupt as relations with the US continue to deteriorate”—suggesting they could use drones in self-defense if attacked by the US.
The reporting carried echoes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s rationale for attacking Iran in February. He stunned legal experts days after the war began by explaining that the US had decided to wage war on the Middle Eastern country because it feared Iran would retaliate after Israel began attacking it.
“The imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked, and we believed they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us,” Rubio said.
The claim that Cuba’s reported preparations make the island a threat to US security “is a lie—with purpose,” said David Adler, co-general coordinator of Progressive International.
“Marco Rubio and his stenographers at Axios are manufacturing consent for the invasion of Cuba,” said Adler. “To fall for this flimsy propaganda is to fail the most basic test of civic literacy. And the stakes are millions of Cuban lives off our coast.”
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long sought regime change in the socialist country.
Axios’ reporting came days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba to pressure officials into complying with US demands, likely including political and economic reforms, heightening fears that the US could be planning a military attack unless the country complies.
White House officials also told CBS News Friday that the Department of Justice is preparing to criminally indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro for shooting down planes that belonged to a US group that had flown into Cuba’s airspace in the 1990s. In January, US forces invaded Venezuela and abducted President Nicolás Maduro, bringing him to the US where he was charged with drug trafficking, and pleaded not guilty.
Former Obama administration staffer and Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor said Sunday that “lots of signals pointing towards an imminent US regime change operation against Cuba.”
“The latest,” he said of the Axios article, “is this blatant effort to launder a pretext for war through the media.”
