Related videos:
Mike Hammer, head of the mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, met this Wednesday with Admiral Adam Chamie, commander of the Southeast District of the Coast Guard, during the 2026 Conference of Chiefs of Mission held at the SOUTHCOM headquarters in Doral, Florida.
Hammer shared a photo from the meeting on the official account of the Embassy in Cuba, with the following statement: “It was a pleasure to meet with the commander of the Southern District of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Adam Chamie, at the Chiefs of Mission conference of Southern Command. We are aligned to protect the U.S.”
The conference, held on May 5 and 6, brought together the diplomatic heads of the U.S. embassies in the Western Hemisphere to align national security priorities.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio—who also serves as the acting National Security Advisor— inaugurated the event alongside General Francis L. Donovan, commander of SOUTHCOM.
The U.S. Embassy in Cuba had confirmed the day before Hammer's participation: "Our head of mission, Mike Hammer, attended the meeting of heads of mission from the Western Hemisphere at Southern Command, where he discussed U.S. priorities in our region with Secretary Rubio and General Frank Donovan."
In a press conference held on Tuesday at the White House, Rubio issued a strong message about Cuba, stating, "Things are going to change," and described the regime as a "failed state" run by "incompetent communists."
Admiral Chamie also leads Operation Vigilant Sentry, an interinstitutional mechanism active since 2004 that deploys air, land, and maritime assets in the Florida Straits, the Windward Passage, and the Caribbean Sea to prevent irregular maritime migration.
His district covers 1.8 million square miles, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, with operational borders with 34 nations.
The meeting comes at a time of heightened concern over a potential mass exodus from Cuba. Since January 2026, the collapse of Venezuelan oil supplies has worsened the energy crisis on the island, with blackouts lasting up to 25 hours affecting more than 55% of Cuban territory.
General Donovan acknowledged before Congress in March 2026 that SOUTHCOM maintains contingency plans for that scenario, including the use of facilities at Guantanamo Naval Base.
Hammer, for its part, has maintained an active presence in Cuba since 2023, visiting communities and meeting with civil society, and has been the target of repudiation acts organized by the regime.
In February, Hammer responded decisively after one of those acts of repudiation and stated in an interview with Telemundo that "there will be a change in 2026" and that "the dictatorship will come to an end."
The coordination between U.S. diplomacy in Cuba and the Coast Guard also takes place within the context of the participation of Hammer in the key meeting with Rubio and Southern Command, where Cuba was a central topic on the regional security agenda.
Filed under: