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The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, and the regime's own Foreign Ministry responded this Sunday to the revelations about the acquisition of more than 300 military drones without denying at any point that the Cuban army has obtained that weaponry, only invoking the principle of legitimate defense.
Fernández de Cossío published on his X account that "the anti-Cuban effort aimed at justifying without any excuse a military aggression against Cuba is intensifying by the hour, with increasingly implausible accusations," and added: "The U.S. is the aggressor country. Cuba is the attacked country, grounded in the principle of legitimate defense."
Minutes later, the Cuban Foreign Ministry amplified the message with its own tweet under the slogan #LaPatriaSeDefiende: "If Cuba is attacked, it will exercise its right to legitimate defense."
The most revealing aspect of both statements is what they omit: neither the deputy minister nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) deny the existence of the drones nor refute the alleged plans of the regime; they merely frame the situation as a defensive response to an American aggression.
The statements came hours after the portal Axios published an exclusive report based on classified intelligence shared by U.S. government officials, indicating that Cuba has acquired over 300 military attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023, stored at strategic locations throughout the island.
According to that intelligence, Cuban officials reportedly discussed plans to use those drones against the Guantánamo naval base, U.S. military ships, and possibly Key West, Florida.
In the past month, the regime is said to have requested more military equipment from Moscow, and intercepts indicate that Cuban intelligence is "trying to learn how Iran has resisted us," referring to the drone warfare tactics developed by Tehran.
A senior U.S. official emphasized the seriousness of the situation: "When we consider those kinds of technologies so close, and a range of dangerous actors from terrorist groups to drug cartels, Iranians, and Russians, it is concerning. It is an increasing threat."
The same official added: "They are part of Putin's meat grinder. They are learning Iranian tactics. It's something we need to plan for."
The immediate context includes the visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana last Thursday, the first visit by a director of that agency in over a decade, where he directly warned regime officials against any acts of hostility and urged the dismantling of the totalitarian system as a condition for lifting the sanctions.
The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, confirmed before Congress last Tuesday that the Cuban regime poses a threat to the national security of the U.S.: "We have been very concerned for a long time that a foreign adversary would use such a location so close to our shores, which is very problematic."
The escalation is part of a broader military cooperation between Havana, Moscow, and Tehran. U.S. officials estimate that up to 5,000 Cuban soldiers have fought for Russia in Ukraine, with Moscow paying the regime about 25,000 dollars for each deployed soldier, and that some have shared knowledge about drone warfare with military leaders in Havana.
Despite the seriousness of the revelations, U.S. officials themselves clarified that they do not consider Cuba an imminent threat nor do they believe the regime is actively planning an attack against U.S. interests.
This week, the Department of Justice plans to file a federal criminal charge against Raúl Castro for having ordered the shooting down of two airplanes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, in which four Cuban-Americans died, adding another layer of pressure on the regime during a time of heightened bilateral tension.
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