Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War of the United States, arrived on Wednesday at the Guantanamo Naval Base wearing black shorts and a green t-shirt with the inscription "MARINES," in workout attire, and immediately upon landing, joined a physical training session alongside marines, soldiers, and sailors.
The images, shared by the official account of the Department of War, showed Hegseth running in formation along a gravel path next to a barbed wire fence, with the flags of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps leading the column.
At the end of the training, Hegseth performed leg exercises and weight lifting alongside the troops before heading to deliver a speech to the base personnel.
The secretary's casual attire sparked a wave of reactions among spokespeople and digital activists aligned with the Cuban regime, ranging from indignation to irony.
The television presenter Marxlenin Valdés wrote on Facebook that the head of the Pentagon landed "in shorts, daddy, shorts," quoted the protocol saying "how you present yourself is how you are received," and described the visit as "Hollywood spectacle society."
Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, known as Gerardo of the Five, published a meme comparing the base to the Cuban resort: "Oh, is it Guantanamo? I thought it was Varadero!".
The official journalist Francisco Rodríguez Cruz quipped: "Again in Guantánamo to clear those people's minds. It was of no use coming in shorts to try to coax me."
The official from MINREX Rodney González Maestrey was more thorough in his criticism, questioning Hegseth's record and pointing out that "beachwear: a respected soldier honors the uniform."
Beyond the debate over clothing, the visit held considerable strategic significance.
Hegseth declared to the troops, "Whatever happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba. Whatever may come, the War Department will be prepared and positioned for any possible eventuality."
He also warned that it would be "imprudent" for Cuba to acquire weaponry capable of reaching the base or the continental U.S. territory, stating that they would be "inviting a confrontation that they not only do not desire but also could not withstand."
Hegseth also proclaimed the so-called "Donroe Doctrine" -a play on words between Donald and Monroe- and recalled the Absolute Resolve Operation on January 3, 2026, when special forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, stating that "Russian air defenses and Cuban guards were no match for our operators."
The visit occurs in the context of the most significant military escalation between both countries in recent years, which includes the deployment of over 1,300 marines in the Caribbean under Operation Southern Spear on May 29, and reports of Cuba acquiring more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023.
This was Hegseth's second visit to Guantanamo as Secretary of War; the first was on February 25, 2025, focusing on migrant detention facilities.
Cuban diplomat Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuba's permanent representative to the UN, responded today that Hegseth was "completely mistaken" and that the future of Cuba "belongs solely and exclusively to the Cuban people and government."
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