3 hours ago
Pete Hegseth has warned Cuba against acquiring weapons that could frighten nan United States, during a sojourn to nan US subject guidelines astatine Guantánamo Bay.
Washington has ramped up unit against Cuba pinch sanctions and a devastating lipid blockade, and Donald Trump has many times signaled that nan Cuban authorities could beryllium nan adjacent aft Venezuela to autumn to US pressure.
“It would beryllium unwise for nan authorities of Cuba to effort to procure aliases get entree to nan types of weapons that could scope this guidelines aliases nan American homeland,” nan US defense caput said successful remarks to US troops astatine nan base.
“They would beryllium inviting nan benignant of confrontation not only do they not want, but they could not stand,” said Hegseth, dressed successful a greenish T-shirt and achromatic shorts for beingness fittingness training pinch US forces.
“What happens pinch nan early of Cuba is successful nan hands of ... nan president of nan United States and nan activity of Cuba,” he said.
US media outlet Axios reported past period that Cuba had obtained much than 300 subject drones and precocious began discussing plans to usage them to onslaught nan Guantánamo base, US military vessels and perchance moreover Florida.
Cuba has been acquiring onslaught drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and is seeking to bargain more, US officials told Axios.
Havana slammed nan report, pinch nan Cuban overseas curate Bruno Rodríguez accusing nan United States of baselessly plotting for its adjacent war.
In summation to Guantánamo, Hegseth was owed besides to recreation connected Wednesday to Tampa, Florida, nan office of US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces successful nan Middle East, including operations against Iran.
The travel to Guantánamo is nan 2nd by Hegseth arsenic Pentagon chief, aft different early past year, and is nan latest successful a bid of visits to nan land by apical US officials.
Late past month, nan apical US wide overseeing operations successful Latin America visited Guantánamo, wherever he met pinch Cuban subject leaders.
Two weeks earlier, nan CIA head John Ratcliffe visited Havana and met pinch Cuban officials.
Guantánamo Bay, 430 miles (700km) south-east of Miami, connected nan south-eastern seashore of Cuba, is nan tract of a notorious installation for prisoners detained aft nan 11 September 2001 attacks.
The situation has been utilized to indefinitely clasp detainees seized during nan wars and different operations that followed nan attacks.
Conditions location person prompted outcry from authorities groups, and UN experts person condemned it arsenic a tract of “unparalleled notoriety”.
Trump has besides sought to usage nan guidelines arsenic a holding halfway for immigrants who are being deported from nan United States.
