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The Democratic congresswoman Nydia Velázquez described it as "madness" that the Trump administration is considering initiating an armed conflict in Cuba, and called on Congress to approve her resolution to stop what she termed the White House's "militarism."
The revelation came this Wednesday, just hours after reported, citing two sources familiar with the directives, that the Pentagon is quietly ramping up planning for a possible military operation in the island.
"The fact that this administration is considering starting another conflict, this time in Cuba, is madness," Velázquez wrote on his account on the social media platform X.
"The Congress must approve my War Powers Resolution on Cuba. The American people do not want this, and Congress must stop this warmongering before it is too late," the legislator added.
On March 24, Velázquez introduced the H.J. Res. 153, known as the War Powers Resolution on Cuba, arguing that only Congress has constitutional authority under Article I to declare war, and that the legislative chamber "has not declared war on Cuba nor issued a specific authorization for the use of military force against Cuba."
The initiative by Velázquez is part of a broader Democratic legislative front: senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Ruben Gallego introduced S.J. Res. 124 on March 12 with identical objectives, while representatives Gregory W. Meeks and Pramila Jayapal introduced the bill titled "Preventing an Unconstitutional War in Cuba" on March 26 to prohibit federal funding for military operations without Congressional approval.
The Zeteo newsletter was the first to report that Pentagon officials received a "new directive" from the White House to intensify planning for possible military actions against Cuba, under the headline "Is Cuba Next?"
The revelation occurs in a context of sustained escalation.
Last Monday, Trump declared at the White House: "We may stop in Cuba after we finish with this", referring to the conflict with Iran.
In March, the leader had stated that he would have "the honor of taking Cuba," although he also ruled out direct military actions, maintaining a deliberately ambiguous rhetoric.
Since January, Trump signed Executive Order 14380 declaring Cuba an "extraordinary threat" and imposed tariffs on countries supplying oil to it, worsening the already critical energy crisis on the island.
For his part, the leader Díaz-Canel warned on April 7 in an interview with Newsweek that Cuba would respond with a "people's war" in the face of any aggression, and that "the loss of human lives and material destruction would be immeasurable."
A spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to provide detailed comments on the plans and referred inquiries to the United States Southern Command, whose leader, General Francis Donovan, testified before Congress in March that operations for taking Cuba were neither being rehearsed nor actively planned.
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