The United States Southern Command sparked social media on Monday by posting a video on its official X account with the slogan "Lethal. Precise. Ready.", accompanied by a message declaring Washington's determination to keep the Western Hemisphere "free from threats that undermine security, stability, and democracy."
The post, which tagged the Department of War and the Secretary of War, garnered over 120,000 views and sparked a wave of reactions among Cubans and anti-communists who saw the message as a direct signal against the regime in Havana.
Among the most striking comments in the thread, several Spanish-speaking users openly expressed their hope that U.S. military operations would extend to Cuba.
"Tic tac, tic tac to the Cuban dictatorship, thank you," wrote an internet user.
Another person was more explicit: "It would be a blessing if those operations were directed at Cuba, please! The dictators have to go!" He added in Spanish: "the PCC is scared to death."
A third user celebrated with a "Click click, click let's remove the dictatorship of Cuba."
The reactions were not limited to enthusiasm. One internet user directly asked if the post was "the prelude to ground troops," while another demanded that Raúl Castro be imprisoned.
Not all comments were favorable to the U.S. stance: at least one user criticized Washington's attitude, stating that "the United States does not own the Western Hemisphere."
The tweet from the Southern Command comes amid a sustained escalation of U.S. military presence in the Caribbean. Last Tuesday, the institution deployed the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz along with the destroyer USS Gridley and the supply ship USNS Patuxent in Caribbean waters, just two days after the viral tweet.
On April 22, the Southern Command activated the Standalone Warfare Command (SAWC), a new structure that integrates drones, artificial intelligence, and unmanned systems, with Cuba explicitly included within its area of responsibility according to a statement released by the United States Embassy in Havana.
Days later, the FLEX2026 exercise in Key West —just 90 miles from Cuba— conducted autonomous warfare drills with aerial drones and unmanned maritime vehicles.
In January, the Southern Command had reaffirmed Operation Southern Spear as the focus of its activity in the region, officially presented as an anti-drug and anti-terrorist campaign.
In February, U.S. forces conducted a lethal strike against a vessel in the Caribbean as part of that operation, resulting in three fatalities.
The same thread from the Southern Command also faced criticism linked to an investigation by Drop Site News that documents the case of Ecuadorian fishermen who claim to have been victims of U.S. forces: 16 crew members of the vessel "La Negra Francisca Duarte II" were found by the coast guard of El Salvador on March 23 with severe burns and serious injuries, and they assert that they were blindfolded and handcuffed after the sinking of their boat.
"We were terrified that they were going to kill us," they declared to the media. Southern Command responded that it had no information to provide and referred the questions to Ecuador.
While the debate on social media mixes hope, skepticism, and accusations, U.S. military pressure on the Caribbean shows no signs of easing.
The U.S. Embassy in Cuba shared the key message from Southern Command regarding the new Autonomous Warfare Command, a gesture that few in Havana are likely to have overlooked.
Filed under: