The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced this Wednesday, on Cuba's Independence Day, the arrival of the aircraft carrier's strike group, USS Nimitz, in the Caribbean, during a deployment that comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Havana in decades.
The SOUTHCOM published the announcement on its X account with the message "Welcome to the Caribbean, Nimitz Strike Group," describing the formation as "the epitome of readiness and presence, unmatched reach and lethality, and strategic advantage."
The strike group consists of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17), the destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), and the replenishment ship USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201).
SOUTHCOM emphasized that the USS Nimitz has demonstrated its combat capability "from the Taiwan Strait to the Arabian Gulf," ensuring stability and defending democracy on a global scale.
The deployment is part of Operation Southern Seas 2026, the 11th edition of this exercise since 2007, which includes circumnavigating South America with stops in Brazil, Chile, Panama, and Jamaica. The USS Nimitz is also undertaking its "final cruise" before its decommissioning, which is scheduled after an extension of its operational life until March 2027.
However, the arrival of the aircraft carrier in the Caribbean takes on a political and deterrent dimension that goes far beyond a routine exercise.
The announcement coincides with a day full of signals towards the Cuban regime: this Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed federal criminal charges against Raúl Castro for the shooting down of planes from Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, and President Donald Trump posted a presidential message using Maduro's capture as a direct warning to Havana.
"The accusation and removal of Maduro sent a clear message to his socialist allies in Havana: this is our hemisphere, and those who destabilize it and threaten the United States will face consequences," Trump stated in that message.
The accumulated escalation since January 2026 includes more than 240 sanctions against Cuba, the interception of at least seven tankers carrying oil destined for the island, and an executive order signed on May 1 that expands restrictions on the energy, defense, mining, and financial services sectors.
Sanctions have reduced Cuban energy imports by between 80% and 90%, causing blackouts of up to 25 hours a day in more than 55% of the island's territory.
On May 5th, Trump had already threatened to deploy the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of Cuba, contingent upon the resolution of the conflict with Iran.
"We would position the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln —the most impressive I have ever seen— a few hundred meters off the coast, and observe how they react," he stated in an interview.
On May 17, Axios revealed that Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran, with discussions about potential uses against the Guantánamo Naval Base and Key West. The following day, Politico reported that SOUTHCOM had begun planning exercises for possible contingency scenarios related to Cuba.
Trump was emphatic in his message this Wednesday: "The United States will not tolerate a pariah state that harbors military, intelligence, and terrorist operations hostile to 90 miles from U.S. territory."
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