The United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, visited the Guantanamo Naval Base on Wednesday to meet with the deployed troops and reminisce about his own military past in that same location two decades ago.
"It is an honor to be here in Guantanamo Bay. I was here 20 years ago, serving as a soldier as part of the detention mission. This feels very familiar to me," stated Hegseth before the troops assembled at the base, according to the official DOW Rapid Response account on X.
Hegseth served in Guantanamo between 2004 and 2005 as a platoon lieutenant in the Minnesota Army National Guard. His mission was to guard prisoners as part of the post-September 11 detention program.
Now, as the highest civilian authority of the Department of Defense, he returned to the base to participate in a morning physical training session alongside marines, sailors, and soldiers of the Army. He was seen running, doing leg exercises, and lifting weights.
"Marines, soldiers, sailors, aviators... God bless you and good morning. There's no better way to start a morning than with physical training!" Hegseth greeted the troops before the exercises.
Beyond personal nostalgia, the secretary conveyed a message with clear strategic content to the troops gathered at the base.
«What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba. Whatever happens, the Department of War will be prepared and positioned for any possible eventuality,» Hegseth stated during the visit.
The secretary also invoked the so-called "Donroe Doctrine", a concept coined by the Trump administration that updates the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and the Roosevelt Corollary of 1904: "This president came and said: not only is the Monroe Doctrine alive -the Roosevelt Corollary not only lives- but now we have the Donroe Doctrine."
The deterrent message was clear: "We want the world to understand that American power, whether 9,000 miles away or just 90 miles from our shores, is the greatest in the world and is ready to go on the offensive or defensive at any moment to defend our interests."
The visit occurs in the context of the largest military escalation between Washington and Havana in recent years. The U.S. deployed more than 1,300 Marines in the Caribbean under Operation Southern Spear on May 29, while the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier patrols the region.
Filtrations to media outlets such as Politico and Axios revealed that Southern Command developed military contingency plans for Cuba that include everything from airstrikes to a potential ground invasion. According to Axios, Havana has acquired over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023.
Last Sunday, Díaz-Canel warned that any military action by Washington could lead to a "bloodbath", while the deadline set by Washington for foreign companies to cease operations with GAESA under the threat of secondary sanctions expired on June 5.
After the visit to Guantánamo, Hegseth was scheduled to travel to Tampa, Florida, to meet with personnel from Central Command (CENTCOM), according to the official itinerary released by the Department of Defense.
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