Word on the street is that Donald Trump is growing impatient with the situation in Cuba. He wants to know why the administration's efforts to weaken the regime haven't worked yet.
Keep in mind, this is coming from anonymous sources — they're rarely fully correct. But there are some signs that this could be true. Trump has reportedly pushed his national security team to "accelerate measures," and if you'll recall, last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went hard on the GAESA, sanctioning what he called the "the heart of Cuba’s kleptocratic communist system."
GAESA controls about 40% of the island's economy, and it's what keeps the regime wealthy while many Cubans starve and live their days without access to water and electricity.
While Trump has said all options are on the table when it comes to his "friendly takeover" of Cuba, he seems reluctant to use military action and says it may not be necessary — but if he is truly growing impatient, you never know. Those of us who track flights have noticed in recent weeks that U.S. military intelligence-gathering flights around the island have ramped up. According to CNN, there have been 25 since February 4, using both drones and manned aircraft. Most of them focus on the two biggest cities — Havana and Santiago de Cuba — and some have come within 40 miles of the coast.
US ramps up spy flights around Cuba to HIGHEST level in YEARS — CNN
— RT (@RT_com) May 10, 2026
Dense web of surveillance paths lights up map — at least 25 flights circling island
‘Pattern similar to lead up to military operations in Iran and Venezuela’ pic.twitter.com/pZ8GOHlBXu
The X post I embedded suggests that it's a pattern "similar to the lead-up to military operations in Iran and Venezuela." But there's something else that's happening in Cuba that is quite similar to what happened in the weeks and months leading up to Venezuela: The regime is ramping up its own propaganda and defiance.
In recent weeks, the regime has been preparing pamphlets to distribute to the Cuban people called "Family Guide for Protection Against Military Aggression." I'll let you guess whose military is the proposed aggressor.
Labeled with the motto "protect, resist, survive, and win," these nine-page pamphlets instruct Cubans on how to survive bombings with what resources they might have on hand. For most people, those resources are little to none, but I digress.
According to Ciber Cuba, "Yudelkis Ortiz , first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Granma, presided over the Provincial Defense Council meeting on Tuesday [May 5], where the mass distribution of the guide was evaluated. The official posted the results of the meeting on Facebook and then deleted the post, suggesting that she revealed something that was not authorized for public release at that time."
Here's more:
The guide instructs each family to prepare an emergency backpack that should include: candles, matches, a lighter, a flashlight, a radio with alternative energy, food that does not require cooking for three days, a container with drinking water, and medications for chronic illnesses, among other things.
In the event of an air raid alert, the document orders people to take refuge in "basements, semi-basements, tunnels, and trenches deep enough to protect themselves from the blast wave ." It also instructs them not to leave these locations until they receive notification that the alert has ended.
If there is no time to reach a shelter, the guide specifies that people should lie face down, protect their head and open their mouth to reduce the damage from the shock wave, in case of an explosion of any device.
The most controversial aspect is preparing the first-aid kit recommended by the authorities, as it includes painkillers such as dipyrone, paracetamol, and aspirin, antihistamines, gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, and face masks. Most Cuban households lack any of these essential resources for surviving armed conflicts.
The guide also details how to apply tourniquets: they should be placed 6 centimeters above the bleeding site and can be kept in place without loosening for between two and six hours.
This comes after earlier this year, shortly after we took out Nicolás Maduro, the regime declared 2026 "Year of Preparation for Defense." Saturdays are for civilians to train in military exercises, including "the use of AK-47 rifles, drones, anti-tank mines, and teams of oxen for road blockades."
Ciber Cuba also reports that last month, Raúl Castro himself sent a message to the military, commanding it to "firmly confront any enemy aggression."
The regime's mouthpiece, "President" Miguel Díaz-Canel, has also been quite defiant in recent weeks. If you'll remember, back in April, he did an interview with NBC, during which he claimed the Cuban people were ready to die for the homeland. He also recently told Newsweek that Cuba "will fight back with a guerrilla-style campaign if the U.S. launches a military attack, warning Washington that any operation would 'result in immense losses' for both countries."
And he's recently warned that Trump "is escalating his threats of military aggression against Cuba to a dangerous and unprecedented scale" and asserted that "no aggressor, however powerful, will find surrender in Cuba."
Don't think you're going to have a choice, sir.
Not a great time to be a communist dictator. Not great. pic.twitter.com/PUUIf1t32s
— MythoMarco (@MythoMarco) May 9, 2026
Besides, in case you missed it, independent reporter Nick Shirley recently spent 24 hours in Cuba before he was chased out of the country. Before he left, he managed to talk to a few people on the streets and every single one of the ones who would talk were begging for Trump and the United States to intervene and free them from tyranny.
If you didn't see it, check out Shirley's 35-minute documentary of his trip here. It's really remarkable and eye-opening: Nick Shirley Shares More About His 24 Hours in Cuba and... You Just Need to See This
Anyway, I see all of this propaganda and defiance as desperation from a sinking ship. We saw it with Maduro. We've seen it with other regimes throughout history. The Cuban one is following the same exact formula, and if Trump and Rubio keep on it, it will see the same results.
