The United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, issued a strong warning to the Cuban regime on Wednesday after concluding a visit to the Guantanamo Naval Base and moving on to Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida.
"Our message to Cuba is: do not engage in that game where you are threatening Americans or American territory, because that will not work out well for you," declared the official, in one of the most direct warnings issued recently by the Trump administration to Havana.
The statements were made after a day in Guantánamo, where Hegseth trained alongside marines, soldiers, and sailors before heading to the troops stationed at the naval base.
During that visit, the Secretary of Defense emphasized that it would be "reckless" for Cuba to attempt to acquire weaponry capable of reaching the U.S. military installation or the continental territory of the United States.
According to his statement, a decision of that nature "would invite a confrontation" that the Cuban regime would not be able to withstand.
Hegseth also reiterated that the Department of War will remain “prepared and positioned for any possible contingency” related to Cuba and stressed that the island's future depends on the decisions made by its leaders as well as those taken by Washington.
"The future of Cuba is in the hands of its leaders and the president of the United States," he stated.
The official also referred to the case of Nicolás Maduro as an example of the consequences that, in his opinion, can arise from challenging the United States, referring to the actions taken by the Trump administration against Venezuela.
Warnings come amid rising tension between Washington and Havana, which intensified in May 2026 when the Axios portal reported that Cuba may have acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023.
According to that report, Cuban officials had discussed the possibility of using those systems against the Guantanamo Naval Base, U.S. Navy vessels, and even targets in Florida. Moscow later rejected the information, calling it an "information war."
The response from Washington was swift. According to Politico, the Trump administration tasked Southern Command with the development of various scenarios for military action against Cuba, which would include everything from limited airstrikes to a potential ground intervention. As part of this strategic reinforcement, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier was deployed to the Caribbean on May 20.
The situation also led to an unusual event in the relations between the two countries. On May 29, General Francis L. Donovan, head of Southern Command, met with General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, head of the Cuban General Staff, in the vicinity of Guantánamo. According to various reports, it was the first meeting of this level between military leaders of both countries in decades.
From Havana, the authorities have responded with a message of resistance. Miguel Díaz-Canel recently warned that a U.S. military action could lead to a "bloodbath with incalculable consequences," while Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío defended Cuba's right to strengthen its defensive capabilities, although he refrained from directly confirming or denying information about the drones.
Hegseth's visit to Guantanamo and Tampa had been officially announced by the Pentagon on June 9.
Although U.S. officials state that they do not consider Cuba an imminent threat, they have expressed concern over what they describe as a "growing threat" stemming from a combination of new military capabilities, the island's geographical proximity, and Havana's cooperation with Russia and Iran.
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