The U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, warned the Cuban regime this Thursday that Washington demands "more cooperation from Cuba, whether they like it or not," in statements made to the press aboard the destroyer USS Gridley, with the Panama Canal in the background, after witnessing the multinational military exercises PANAMAX 2026.
Hegseth's words, reported by journalist Alex Salvi, were direct and unambiguous: "They have been threatening the United States for a long time, allowing foreign nations and malicious actors to spy on America from there. Are they acquiring weapons that could reach the United States of America? That is concerning."
The secretary warned that countries like Cuba are "on notice" and that the U.S. "will not tolerate that kind of malignant influence in our hemisphere," framing the Trump administration's policy under what he referred to as the "Donroe Doctrine" or "Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine."
"It is something real, and our job is to execute the component that corresponds to the Department of War," he stated.
Hegseth also announced that in the coming weeks there will be "very important" developments on the anti-narcotics front, related to the progress of the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition (A3C), a security alliance driven by Washington and composed of about twenty countries from the hemisphere.
"You will see some things in the coming weeks that are really important," he noted.
When asked about the possibility of military action against Cuba, the secretary did not dismiss any avenue: "As I have said before, and I believe you have seen what has happened in other cases, all options are on the table, including military options."
He closed his response with a phrase that left no room for interpretation: "We are going to have many options there and we look forward to what is coming."
Hegseth also emphasized the weakness of Havana's influence and that of its allies in the region: "If you look at what foreign influence has managed to do in our hemisphere, it has been quite little: the Russians, the Cubans, the Iranians, and Venezuela."
He added that the way Latin American countries have approached the coalition "demonstrates that they understand where the balance of power lies, especially in this hemisphere. And that, without a doubt, also applies to Cuba."
The statements are made in the context of the multinational exercise PANAMAX 2026, held from August 3 to 13 in Panama, with the participation of 18 countries and over 1,700 personnel, focused on the defense of the Panama Canal and regional security cooperation.
This new warning is part of a sustained escalation of verbal pressure from Washington on Havana throughout 2026.
In June, Hegseth visited Guantanamo Naval Base and stated that the future of Cuba was "in the hands of the President of the United States and Cuban leadership," using the capture of Nicolás Maduro — apprehended by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026 — as a direct warning to the regime in Havana.
In May 2026, U.S. intelligence cited by Axios revealed that Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones of Russian and Iranian manufacture since 2023, with possible targets including the Guantanamo Naval Base and Key West, Florida.
The regime responded through Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of People's Power, who on that same Thursday stated at the forum "Fidel and Parliamentary Diplomacy" that "no act of aggression against the people of the United States has ever come from Cuba" and that the island "is not a threat to the United States."
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