The U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, proclaimed this Wednesday before the troops stationed at Guantanamo Naval Base that the Western Hemisphere is "key territory" for Washington and that the Trump administration has added a new principle to U.S. foreign policy: "the Monroe Doctrine."
Hegseth arrived this morning in Guantánamo to train alongside the troops before delivering an outdoor speech, dressed in a Marine Officers Program t-shirt and surrounded by Army soldiers and military personnel.
“We are defending the homeland and we are reclaiming our hemisphere”, Hegseth stated before the military personnel, according to a video released by the Department of War.
In his speech, the secretary stated that previous presidents ignored the Monroe Doctrine for too long, "pretending that our backyard did not matter."
Hegseth stated that Trump not only revived the doctrine of 1823 and the Roosevelt Corollary of 1904, but also added a third principle: “The Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: that the territory and ground of our hemisphere is key terrain.”
The name “Doctrina Donroe” is a contraction of “Don” —for Donald Trump— and “Monroe,” and was officially presented by Hegseth at a hemispheric summit in Miami in March 2026.
As a first example of its application, Hegseth cited the Panama Canal: "We are working there to secure both sides of the canal, ensuring that our ships can flow freely, that we have more Marines and more soldiers, a new jungle school. It's key territory that we want to make sure foreign adversaries cannot control."
The second example was Venezuela. Hegseth alluded to the Operation Absolute Resolve on January 3, 2026, in which U.S. special forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas: "In about 45 minutes, in the early morning, they took the most heavily fortified facility within the most heavily fortified base of their capital."
In that segment, Hegseth explicitly mentioned Cuba: "The Russian air defenses and the Cuban guards couldn't match our operators, our Rangers, the ones who do incredible things."
The secretary also announced that from that operation came a Medal of Honor for a pilot who kept his men safe during the aircraft's landing: "Things from history books. History continues to happen today."
Regarding Cuba, Hegseth was straightforward: “What happens to the future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba. No matter what happens, the Department of War will be prepared and positioned for any possible contingency”.
The visit comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Havana. In May, the U.S. deployed more than 1,300 marines in the Caribbean as part of Operation Southern Spear and sent the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to the region.
This is complemented by reports that Cuba has acquired over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023, with discussions held regarding their use against the Guantanamo base itself, military ships, and targets in Florida.
Last Sunday, Díaz-Canel stated that Washington is considering three possible scenarios regarding Cuba and warned that any military action could lead to a "bloodbath."
Hegseth closed his speech on a personal note: "It is an honor to be here in Guantanamo Bay. I was here 20 years ago, serving as a soldier in the detention mission. This was then and it is today: a very important and strategic American ground."
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