On Wednesday, I reported that USA Today and Zeteo claimed that the Pentagon is ramping up plans for military action in Cuba. The Pentagon responded with a generic we plan "for a range of contingencies and remains prepared to execute the president’s orders as directed." While I don't discount that this may be happening, I am always cautious with news from "anonymous sources," and don't buy into them until we get actual confirmation from Donald Trump or someone within his administration, or maybe even a trustworthy member of Congress (I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but there are a few who I do trust on this topic).
While Trump has still not confirmed anything like this, he is keeping the media — and more importantly, the Cuban regime — on its toes by teasing it.
On Friday, he spoke at a Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix, saying, "And very soon, this great strength will also bring about a day 70 years in waiting — it's called a new dawn in Cuba. We're going to help them out with Cuba. We have a lot of great Cuban-Americans... that were brutally treated, whose families were killed, and now, watch what happens."
🚨 ÚLTIMA HORA
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) April 17, 2026
Trump dice que, muy pronto, la «gran fuerza» del ejército estadounidense creará «un nuevo amanecer para Cuba».pic.twitter.com/5q0Aaazccf
Recommended: The New Monroe Doctrine: So… Here’s Everything That Happened. Yes, Everything.
Later, on Air Force One, a reporter asked Trump: "There have been reports that the Pentagon is preparing for military action in Cuba. Are those reports true? Is Cuba next?"
"Well, it depends on what your definition of military action is," Trump said coyly.
"Will it look like Venezuela or Iran?" the reporter asked.
Trump repeated his line about the definition of military action and then made a joke about Bill Clinton's famous "meaning of the word 'is'" statements.
"There have been reports that the Pentagon is preparing for military action in Cuba. Are those reports true? Is Cuba next?"@POTUS: "Well, it depends on what your definition of 'military action' is." pic.twitter.com/6u7nZmtwu4
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 18, 2026
As I said on Wednesday, I have no doubt that Trump (and Marco Rubio) have plans to tackle Cuba once they have Iran under control, and I have no doubt that military action is not off the table. It should never be off the table when dealing with any of our adversaries.
But this isn't a confirmation of anything specific, just more of Trump's "Cuba's next" rhetoric. It could mean anything — I mean, a month ago, he was talking about literally sending Rubio to Cuba. The president says things, and the mainstream media goes nuts, as if it hasn't figured out that everything he says off the cuff is not literal policy.
I have no doubt that the mainstream media will run with all of this as though we're going to "war with Cuba" next week.
Something else worth noting is that a U.S. Navy drone spent several hours circling Cuba's coast at a very high altitude this week, presumably gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance — something our country does in the Caribbean all the time. But many are saying this instance was particularly noteworthy because of the duration and proximity. Our military made similar moves in Venezuela in the weeks and months leading up to the capture and arrest of Nicolás Maduro.
US Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone conducting a reconnaissance mission off the coast of Cuba this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/UwGmoxoo28
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 16, 2026
A US Navy MQ-4 high-altitude surveillance drone continues to conduct an extensive reconnaissance mission of Cuba this evening.
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 17, 2026
The drone is now loitering just off Havana. pic.twitter.com/AofY2cbLOz
If nothing else, I think all of this is a message to the regime that it better play ball or it will face severe consequences. Right now, at least publicly, it's being awfully defiant.
On Sunday, Cuba's so-called "president," Miguel Díaz-Canel, appeared on Meet the Press for a softball interview, during which he basically said Cuba is not scared of the U.S., and that the people there will give their lives for the Revolution.
I doubt the same Cuban people who starving, have no power, and out protesting against communism every night and calling for Trump to help them agree. They've seen what he's done for Venezuela and want the same. As a matter of fact, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been making the media rounds in Europe this week, and she's heaped tons of praise on our president because, she says, he's the only leader in the world who was willing to put his own citizens lives on the line for the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
María Corina Machado says she does not regret giving her Nobel to Trump:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 18, 2026
There is a leader in the world who has put the lives of his country’s citizens at risk for the freedom of Venezuela, and that is Trump.pic.twitter.com/Yg2cYlsxCd
Even so, the Castros' puppet, Díaz-Canel, is still mouthing off about how Cuba is not like Venezuela and will fight the imperialists. In another interview this week, he said:
What I can assure you is that here we have a people ready to fight. And if thirty-two Cuban combatants fell in Venezuela defending that nation's president, imagine the millions of Cubans who would follow that same example, fighting to save the revolution and defend Cuban soil.
In defense matters, we do not compromise the aid of any country. We have military cooperation relations with friendly countries, right?
But in the face of aggression, regardless of political and other support we may receive, we rely on the strength of our Revolutionary Armed Forces, our institutions, our territorial defense system, and the concept of the people's war, which was also conceived by the Commander-in-Chief and the Army General at a time when we were under great threat of imperialist aggression from other U.S. administrations.
And furthermore, we will always keep in mind the certainty of victory that Fidel instilled in us.
Sure, Miguel. This is exactly the kind of language Maduro used in November and December, and look how that worked out for him in January. Also, I'm pretty sure that Fidel Castro's ghost is no match for the U.S. military... should it come to that.
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