The president Donald Trump ruled out any military action against Cuba for now and opted for the diplomatic route, in his first public statements regarding reports suggesting a possible military operation related to the island.
The words came as he left the White House bound for Knoxville, Tennessee, when reporters asked him about reports concerning an assessment of Army Reserve units related to a plan that U.S. officials linked to Cuba.
"I would say that Cuba and we will reach an agreement. I don't think we need to resort to military means," responded the U.S. president.
“Cuba is failing very seriously. We want to help Cuba. We want to open Cuba to our people. We have great Cuban-Americans who want to return,” he added next.
The origin of the reports: an internal message from the Army
Trump's statements come a day after CBS News reported on an internal message in which the U.S. Army Reserve was evaluating whether it could make six types of military units or capabilities available to Southern Command —including a medical brigade, an engineering battalion, and a military police brigade— within 90 to 120 days.
The document does not mention Cuba by name nor does it constitute a deployment order. However, officials who spoke on condition of anonymity linked this planning to the island, which sparked speculation about a possible American action.
The State Department did not rule out options
Before Trump spoke, the spokesperson for the Department of State, Tommy Pigott, had responded to CBS News without publicly dismissing possible options from the U.S. Administration.
"The president has a wide range of options at his disposal to ensure that our national interests are upheld," Pigott stated when directly asked whether he was ruling out armed intervention.
The spokesperson described the Cuban regime as "an island that is essentially moving toward the status of a failed state that is very close to our shores" and accused it of acting as "a nexus of political terrorism in the world."
Pigott also rejected that the sanctions are responsible for the fuel shortage.
"The reason for the fuel shortage is the regime's own incompetent policies," he stated, recalling that when Venezuela sent free oil, the Cuban government "sold 60% of that supply and kept the money."
Additionally, it was announced that the U.S. has offered 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid contingent upon it reaching the Cuban people directly.
A week of rising tension between Washington and Havana
Trump's words come after a week of escalating tension between Washington and Havana.
On September 22, Trump labeled Cuba a "completely failed state" before the United Nations General Assembly and asserted that the regime "will fall."
The Cuban delegation led by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla left the plenary in a show of protest.
The next day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that there are figures in the regime “with whom we can never work because their hands are stained with blood”.
The U.S. Administration has imposed sanctions against military entities, the GAESA conglomerate, and the nickel sector. On September 17, Rubio announced measures against eight entities and three individuals linked to the military apparatus.
U.S. military activity in the Caribbean
Trump's statements come in the context of increased U.S. military activity in the Caribbean. At the beginning of September, two littoral combat ships arrived at the Naval Base in Guantanamo.
On September 8, SOUTHCOM released images of more than 1,300 Marines training at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico. At the beginning of the year, U.S. forces conducted reconnaissance operations of the seabed around Cuba, according to CBS News.
The response from Havana and Trump's nuance
From Havana, Deputy Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío stated on Friday that “there are no advances” in the contacts between Cuba and Washington.
Daugherty stated in X that Trump prefers to reach an agreement, although he pointed out that, in his opinion, the military option is not definitively off the table.
Pigott, for his part, left the door open for a conditional collaboration: "We are ready to work with those who want to see this island on a better path toward a free, happy, and prosperous Cuba. So far, the regime has not been willing to take the steps to make it happen."
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