Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense of the United States, issued a new direct warning to the Cuban regime this Thursday from the Panama Canal, where he was aboard the military vessel USS Gridley to observe multinational military exercises, and announced that in the coming weeks there will be movements that he described as “truly significant” on the anti-cartel front.
"I would like to see more cooperation from Cuba, whether they like it or not. In the end, they have been threatening the United States for a long time, allowing foreign countries and malicious actors to spy on the United States from there," declared Hegseth to the press from the deck of the warship.
The official raised his voice while posing a rhetorical question about Cuban armament: “Are they acquiring weapons that could reach the United States? That is concerning.”
The warning is part of a sustained escalation of pressure from Washington on Havana throughout 2026, and it adds an element of urgency that was not present in previous statements: the explicit reference to imminent actions in the coming weeks.
"Countries like Cuba have been warned. We will not tolerate that kind of malign influence in our hemisphere," emphasized Hegseth, who also confirmed that all options remain on the table, including military ones.
The Secretary of War framed his statements within what he termed the "Donroe Doctrine" or "Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine": "It is something real, and our job is to execute the part that corresponds to the Department of War."
Hegseth also warned that the Cuban regime "would do well to pay attention to President Trump's willingness to assert the strategic prerogatives of the United States," and added that Cuba "is certainly no match for the United States of America."
The chosen setting for the statements—a U.S. warship in the Panama Canal during multinational exercises—deliberately reinforces the message's show of force component.
The warnings issued on Thursday are based on an escalating context of tension. In May 2026, intelligence reports cited by Axios indicated that Cuba is said to have acquired over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023, with potential uses against the Guantanamo Naval Base, U.S. vessels, or Key West. Russia denied the report, labeling it as “fiction.”
The most direct precedent was Hegseth's visit to the Guantanamo Naval Base in June, where he had already used the capture of Nicolás Maduro—arrested by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026—as an explicit warning to the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel, noting that the Russian defenses and the Cuban guards protecting Maduro "were no match" for U.S. forces.
The regime then responded through Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, permanent representative to the UN, who described Hegseth as “completely mistaken” and stated that the future of Cuba belongs “solely and exclusively to the Cuban people and government.”
Hegseth concluded his remarks on Thursday with a phrase that leaves no room for ambiguity: "We will have many options there and we look forward to what is to come."
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