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The United States Senate rejected a resolution on Tuesday that would have required President Donald Trump to seek authorization from Congress before ordering any military action against Cuba.
The vote was 51 to 47, leaving the leader with full freedom of action regarding the island.
Why is there talk of a possible military action against Cuba?
Since early 2026, Trump has ramped up pressure on Havana with unprecedented measures: he signed an executive order declaring Cuba an "extraordinary threat," imposed tariffs on countries that sell oil to the island, and supported the energy naval blockade that Washington maintains against it.
This was compounded by the fact that in January, U.S. forces captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, abruptly cutting off the supply of between 26,000 and 35,000 daily barrels of Venezuelan crude that Cuba was receiving.
Trump has also made statements that raised alarms.
In March, he said, "I will have the honor of taking Cuba," and weeks later he added, "Cuba is next, but pretend I didn't say that."
Although on March 13 he explicitly dismissed a direct military intervention by stating "that is not going to happen," the Pentagon's plans remain active.
What exactly happened in the voting?
Democratic senators Tim Kaine (Virginia), Ruben Gallego (Arizona), and Adam Schiff (California) advocated for resolution S.J. Res. 124, invoking the War Powers Act of 1973.
They argued that the naval blockade already constitutes "hostilities" and that Congress must intervene before the situation escalates, as happened with the war against Iran, which has lasted nearly two months without a clear resolution.
The Republicans blocked the debate with 51 votes. Only two senators from the party broke ranks: Susan Collins (Maine) and Rand Paul (Kentucky) voted with the Democrats.
On the opposing side, Democrat John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) joined the Republicans to defeat the resolution, repeating the pattern he previously demonstrated in previous votes on Iran.
Can Trump order military action against Cuba after this outcome?
Technically, yes. The War Powers Act of 1973 allows the president to deploy military forces for up to 60 days without Congressional authorization.
Only after that deadline would legislative approval be needed, or the troops would have to be withdrawn. With the resolution defeated, there is no immediate legal restraint.
The Pentagon has accelerated military contingency plans regarding Cuba, although the Department of Defense has refrained from confirming it publicly.
For his part, Miguel Díaz-Canel warned in an interview with Newsweek that Cuba would respond with a "guerrilla campaign or people's war in the event of an attack, causing immense losses for both nations."
What comes next?
Democrats have made it clear that they will continue to push for these types of votes even without the majority to win them, with the goal of forcing Republicans to take a public stance leading up to the midterm elections.
The minority leader Chuck Schumer warned: "Republicans must take action to address an imminent catastrophe in Cuba before it worsens further, as they should have done with Trump’s war in Iran."
For now, the war with Iran keeps Cuba on the back burner, and Trump even allowed a Russian tanker to dock on the island in March for "humanitarian reasons," suggesting that any military escalation is not imminent, but it is also not ruled out.
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