The meeting between the United States Southern Command and the Cuban Ministry of the Armed Forces at the Guantanamo Naval Base on May 29 is not a sign of an imminent diplomatic agreement nor a total break: it is, according to scholar Jorge Duany, a "propaganda war on both sides" in which both governments attempt to gain symbolic advantage from the same images.
Duany, emeritus professor of Anthropology at Florida International University and former director for 12 years of the Cuban Research Institute at that university, analyzed the photographs of the meeting between the head of Southern Command and General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo in an interview with Tania Costa.
For Duany, the key lies in interpreting the images within a context of increasing bilateral tension: "I believe that right now it's somewhat of a war of words, images, and symbols."
The academic points out that U.S. pressure on Cuba intensified starting on January 3, 2026, when Nicolás Maduro was extracted from Venezuela. "The U.S. government has mounted an intense campaign of economic and diplomatic pressure on Cuba, and that pressure has not ceased; rather, it has escalated in recent months," he explained.
At the same time, remember that both Trump and Marco Rubio have expressed a preference for a negotiated resolution: "We must recall the statements made by Trump himself and Marco Rubio, that they would prefer to have some sort of diplomatic agreement, which has yet to materialize."
On the Cuban side, Duany identifies another motivation: calming a population worn out by the crisis. "The Cuban government also wants to ease some of the population's concerns. There is a significant worry about a potential military intervention in Cuba at some point," he said, referring to the deep humanitarian crisis the island is experiencing, characterized by chronic blackouts that Cubans commonly refer to as "alumbrones."
One of the most striking aspects of the analysis is the chosen setting for the meeting. The MINFAR described the meeting as "positive" and noted that both parties agreed to maintain communication between military leaders. However, Duany emphasizes the implicit contradiction: "It's particularly noteworthy from the Cuban side how this takes place in Guantánamo, which has also traditionally been a symbolically conflict-ridden area due to the presence of the U.S. naval base, which Cuba has never accepted as legitimate."
By meeting precisely there, the Cuban regime effectively legitimizes a presence it has denounced as illegitimate and imperialist for decades.
The symbolic paradox of the FAR in Guantánamo did not go unnoticed in the Cuban exile community, where the photo sparked divided reactions: some interpreted it as a sign of imminent change, while others rejected it as an unacceptable concession to the regime. A comment on social media summarized the more skeptical stance: " Cuba has already been taken, they just haven't realized it."
The Southern Command, based in Doral, Miami, has publicly acknowledged having contingency plans in response to a possible massive Cuban exodus, including the use of the Guantanamo base itself as a logistical processing center for migrants, which adds another layer of meaning to the meeting.
Duany concludes that the images, despite their visual impact, raise more questions than answers: "They are very powerful images, but also intriguing, precisely because the photos are accompanied by very brief comments from both sides."
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