WASHINGTON — Military plans for a possible Pentagon-led operation in Cuba are secretly underway in case President Donald Trump orders an intervention there, USA Today has learned.
Two people familiar with the order spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The directive appears to be the latest escalation in tensions between the United States and Cuba, which began in January when the Trump administration restricted oil shipments to Cuba as part of a broader campaign to force sweeping political changes on the communist-ruled island.
In a statement to USA TODAY, the Pentagon said it has plans in place for a variety of contingencies and stands ready to carry out the president’s orders as directed.
Reports of the escalating plot first appeared on Zeteo’s Substack and circulated on Capitol Hill and across Washington.
The United States and Cuba admitted they were in the early stages of finding a way out of the crisis., However, it is not clear how far the two sides are willing to compromise. In March, USA TODAY reported that the two countries were in talks to reach a historic economic agreement that would repair relations.
“You can do whatever you want.”
Tensions between Washington and Havana have increased in recent weeks, even as the Trump administration’s attention has shifted to the Iran war. President Trump hinted that he would soon have the “honor” of “occupying Cuba in some way,” adding: “I think I can do whatever I want with Cuba, whether it’s liberating it or taking it.”
April 13th, President Trump told USA TODAY from the White House, referring to the ongoing conflict with Iran: “Once this is over, I might stop by Cuba.”
In a recent interview with Newsweek, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel vowed that Cuba would fight back if the United States launched a military attack.
“We fight and defend ourselves, and even if we fall in battle, dying for our country is living,” Diaz-Canel told the outlet.
The covert U.S. operation that extracted former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from a compound in Caracas on January 3 shocked Venezuelan and Cuban exile communities in South Florida and sparked speculation that Cuba was next. The early morning attack on President Maduro killed 32 Cuban military personnel who were protecting the president.
But unlike in the run-up to U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Iran, U.S. officials are not asserting an “imminent threat” from Cuba to the United States, said Brian Fonseca, director of the Jack D. Gordon Public Policy Institute at Florida International University, who has extensively researched the Cuban military.
Fonseca said he thought talk of preparing military plans could be more of a military threat than an actual strategy, adding: “At this point, this is a lot of signals.”
For decades, U.S. officials have discussed some kind of military intervention in Cuba, ever since Fidel Castro and his rebels stormed Havana in 1959 and later pledged allegiance to the Soviet Union and communism.
U.S. military operations in Cuba are likely to be swift and overwhelmingly successful, Fonseca said, as Cuba’s military equipment is deteriorating and its officers are unlikely to submit to an unpopular regime.
What follows, including establishing the rule of law and fielding opposition leaders, will be a much more difficult task, he said.
“This would be a very easy military victory, but a political victory is much more difficult,” Fonseca said.
Contributor: Cybele Mayes-Osterman
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