Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew into the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday, in the latest high-profile trip to the communist-ruled island by a senior American official.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to enlistees after they swear an oath to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, during an Enlistee Recognition Ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.
, Thursday. The visit follows recent trips by U.S. officials and increased tensions with Havana. GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew into the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday, in the latest high-profile trip to the communist-ruled island by a senior American official as President Donald Trump steps up pressure on Havana.
Hegseth's visit is taking place less than two weeks after the top U.S. commander for Latin America, General Francis Donovan, visited Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, and held discussions with a senior Cuban general at its perimeter. Hegseth made no remarks as he landed at Guantanamo Bay, where he is expected to meet U.S. troops stationed there.
Michael Bustamante, head of the Cuban studies program at the University of Miami, said the visit could send a message about U.S. resolve amid growing concerns in Cuba of a possible U.S. military attack on the island.
"Perhaps Hegseth's visit is intended to yet again reinforce the message that the cost of not coming to the table could be use of a military option, even as observers increasingly warn of such an operation's potential complications," he said. Trump is strongly supported by hardline Cuban Americans in Florida who have pushed for U.S.-instigated regime change for decades, and his administration has been steadily ramping up pressure on Havana.
The indictment was the latest example of the Trump administration's efforts to assert U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.on January 3. Maduro, a socialist aligned with Cuba, was flown to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a possible contender for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, has raised alarm in Havana by talking about the national security risk posed by what he calls a failed state just 90 miles from Florida. On May 5, Rubio and Donovan posed in front of a map of Cuba in a post on X by Donovan's Southern Command.
It said the talks focused on "U.S. efforts to counter threats that undermine security, stability and democracy in our hemisphere.
" Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has warned that any military action would lead to a "bloodbath" in which thousands of Cubans and Americans would die. Trump has effectively imposed a fuel blockade on the island by threatening tariffs on countries supplying it with oil and other energy sources, igniting seemingly endless power outages and delivering new blows to the island's already ailing economy.
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