The Trump administration is increasingly viewing Cuba as a potential security concern after classified intelligence reportedly suggested that Havana had acquired more than 300 military drones and explored possible drone warfare scenarios involving American targets, according to an Axios report.
Citing classified intelligence and senior US officials, the report claimed that Cuban authorities had recently discussed contingency plans involving potential attacks on the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, American military vessels, and even Key West, Florida, in the event of escalating hostilities.
A senior US official told Axios that Washington was particularly alarmed by the proximity of such military technology to the United States, especially amid reports of Iranian military advisers operating in Havana and Cuba’s expanding defence ties with Russia and Iran.
“When we think about those types of technologies being that close, and a range of bad actors from terror groups to drug cartels to Iranians to the Russians, it’s concerning,” the official said, describing the situation as a “growing threat”.
CIA chief visits Cuba amid rising tensions
CIA director John Ratcliffe travelled to Cuba on Thursday, where he reportedly warned Cuban officials against engaging in hostile actions.
According to Axios, Ratcliffe also urged Havana to move away from what he described as a “totalitarian government” in order to ease crippling US sanctions.
A CIA official quoted in the report said Ratcliffe had made it clear that “Cuba can no longer serve as a platform for adversaries to advance hostile agendas in our hemisphere”.
“The Western Hemisphere cannot be our adversaries’ playground,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to unseal an indictment against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over the 1996 downing of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based aid group Brothers to the Rescue. Reuters had earlier reported that US officials were considering such charges, a move likely to sharply escalate tensions between Washington and Havana.
Cuba rejects allegations
Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla dismissed the accusations, accusing the US of constructing a “fraudulent case” to justify sanctions and possible military intervention.
“Cuba neither threatens nor desires war,” Rodríguez wrote in a social media post, adding that the country prepares itself to confront external aggression under its “right to legitimate self-defence recognised by the UN Charter”.
Cuba’s embassy also stated on X that the island had the right to defend itself against external aggression, though it did not directly deny possessing attack drones.
Growing concerns over drone warfare and Russian ties
The report further alleged that Cuba has been acquiring attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and storing them at strategic sites across the island. Cuban officials were also said to be studying Iran’s methods of resisting US pressure.
The allegations come amid heightened global concern over drone warfare following Iran’s deployment of drones during recent tensions involving the US and Israel in the Middle East.
Axios additionally reported that US officials believe thousands of Cuban soldiers have fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, with some allegedly returning with firsthand knowledge of modern drone warfare tactics.
Despite the concerns, US officials reportedly do not view Cuba as an immediate military threat on the scale of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
“No one’s worried about fighter jets from Cuba,” one senior official said, while stressing that the island’s close proximity to the United States remained a significant strategic concern.
