The United States Army has been conducting intensive training for months in tropical rainforests, swamps, rivers, and the Caribbean Sea, in scenarios that closely replicate the geographical and climatic conditions their forces would encounter in Cuba.
The central focus of these exercises is the Jungle Operations Course – Panama (JOTC-P, for its acronym in English), which takes place at the Cristóbal Colón Naval Air Base on the Caribbean coast of Panama, established in 2025 by U.S. Southern Command.
The environment—dense rainforest, rivers, swamps, extreme heat, and dangerous wildlife—is virtually identical to that of the Ciénaga de Zapata, the largest swamp area in the insular Caribbean, and to that of eastern Cuba, dominated by the Sierra Maestra.
On May 14, a marine was photographed crawling through mud during the event known as "Green Mile," with a camouflage-painted face, soaking wet uniform, and rifle in hand.
On May 6, U.S. military personnel and Panamanian security staff practiced river crossing at the same base. Southern Command described the training as “focused on survival” and aimed at “strengthening interoperability” between the forces of both countries.
On May 4, the Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 conducted flight operations from the USS Fort Lauderdale using AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift helicopters.
In parallel, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU, Special Operations Capability) has been operating in the Caribbean for months aboard the USS Fort Lauderdale, an amphibious transport ship designed to project forces ashore from the sea.
On April 15th, Marines from the Marine Expeditionary Unit and tactical operators from the Coast Guard practiced fast roping from UH-1Y Venom helicopters onto the deck of a ship in the Caribbean Sea.
These capabilities—amphibious landing, night insertion, maritime interdiction—are exactly what would be required for operations on Cuban shores, both in the north and the south of the island.
On May 20, Southcom announced the arrival of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group to the Caribbean, accompanied by the USS Gridley destroyer, the CVW-17 air wing, and the replenishment ship USNS Patuxent, as part of Operation Southern Seas 2026, the eleventh edition of the exercise since 2007.
They described the warship as "the ultimate expression of readiness and presence, unmatched reach and lethality."
The Cuban regime, for its part, declared 2026 as the "year of preparation for defense" and began intensive actions of anti-aircraft brigades in March, activating the doctrine of the "war of the entire people."
Recently, Russia accused the U.S. of preparing a military intervention in Cuba in the context of the deployment of the Nimitz.
When asked if the deployment of the aircraft carrier was intended to intimidate Cuba, President Donald Trump replied succinctly, "No, not at all. We are going to help them."
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