Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War of the United States, arrived on Wednesday at the Guantánamo Naval Base wearing black shorts and a green t-shirt with the inscription "MARINES," in athletic gear, and immediately upon landing, he joined a workout 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 beside 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 weightlifting alongside the troops before heading to deliver a speech to the base personnel.
The secretary's informal attire sparked a wave of reactions among spokespersons and digital activists aligned with the Cuban regime, ranging from indignation to irony.
The television host Marxlenin Valdés wrote on Facebook that the head of the Pentagon arrived "in shorts, daddy, shorts," quoted the protocol saying "as you present yourself, so you are received," and described the visit as "Hollywood showbiz."
Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, known as Gerardo of the Five, published a meme comparing the base to the Cuban beach resort: "Oh, is it Guantánamo? I thought it was Varadero!".
The official journalist Francisco Rodríguez Cruz mocked: "Once again in Guantánamo to clear those people's minds. Coming in shorts didn't do anything to try to coax me."
The MINREX official Rodney González Maestrey was more extensive in his criticism, questioning Hegseth's record and pointing out that "beach attire: a respected soldier honors the uniform."
Beyond the debate over clothing, the visit held considerable strategic significance.
Hegseth declared to the troops, "The future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba. Whatever happens, the War Department will be prepared and positioned for any possible eventuality."
He also warned that it would be "rather unwise" for Cuba to acquire weaponry capable of reaching the base or the continental United States, stating that they would be "inviting a confrontation that they not only do not want 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, noting that "Russian air defenses and Cuban guards were no match for our operators."
The visit takes place amidst the largest military escalation between the two 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 about Cuba acquiring over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023.
This was Hegseth's second visit to Guantánamo as Secretary of War; the first was on February 25, 2025, focused on the 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."
Filed under: