The president Donald Trump dismissed, initially, a military action against Cuba and leaned towards a diplomatic approach, in his first public statements regarding reports suggesting a possible military operation on the island.
The words came as he was leaving the White House en route to Knoxville, Tennessee, when reporters questioned him about reports indicating that military reserves had been activated in relation to Cuba.
"I would say that Cuba and we will reach an agreement. I don't think we need to resort to military action," the U.S. president replied casually.
Cuba is facing very serious issues. 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 spark: the leaked memorandum from the Army
Trump's statements come a day after CBS News revealed an internal memorandum in which the U.S. Army Reserve assessed whether it could make available to Southern Command six types of military formations—including a medical brigade, an engineer battalion, and a military police brigade—within a timeframe of 90 to 120 days.
The document does not mention Cuba by name nor does it constitute a deployment order, but officials speaking anonymously have linked it to the island, sparking a wave of international speculation.
The State Department did not rule anything out
Before Trump spoke, the spokesperson for the Department of State, Tommy Pigott, had appeared before CBS News, keeping all options open.
"The president has a wide range of options at his disposal to ensure that our national interests are upheld," Pigott stated when directly asked if he ruled out military intervention.
The spokesperson described the Cuban regime as "an island that is essentially moving towards 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; he recalled that when Venezuela sent free oil, the Cuban government "sold 60% of that supply and kept the money."
In addition, it was announced that the U.S. has offered 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid conditioned on it reaching the Cuban people directly.
A week of maximum pressure
Trump's words cap a week of escalating tensions between Washington and Havana.
On September 22, Trump described Cuba as a "completely failed state" before the UN General Assembly and stated that the regime "will fall."
The Cuban delegation headed 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 within the regime “with whom we can never collaborate because their hands are stained with blood”.
His strategy has consisted of graduated sanctions against military entities, the GAESA conglomerate, and the nickel sector; on September 17th, he announced measures against eight entities and three individuals linked to the military apparatus.
The prior military deployment
The military context surrounding Trump's statements is significant. At the beginning of September, two littoral combat ships arrived at the Guantanamo Naval Base.
On September 8, Southcom released images of over 1,300 Marines training at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico. Earlier this year, U.S. forces conducted reconnaissance operations of the seabed around Cuba, according to CBS News.
The regime's response and Trump's stance
From Havana, Deputy Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío was emphatic on Friday: “there are no advancements” in the contacts between Cuba and Washington.
Despite the conciliatory tone of the president, Daugherty emphasized on X that "military action is never off the table" for Trump, although "it is clear that he prefers an agreement."
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 towards a free, happy, and prosperous Cuba. So far, the regime has not been willing to take the steps to achieve this."
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