The Pentagon has increased its preparations for a possible attack on Cuba, according to media reports, as President Trump has made clear that war against the island nation may be his next military intervention.
Zeteo first reported the ramped-up plans for war with Cuba, saying that in recent days, “officials at the Pentagon and elsewhere in the US government were quietly given a new directive that came straight from the Trump White House. The message: ramp up your preparations for possible military operations against Cuba.”
USA Today affirmed the Zeteo scoop, reporting that military planning for war with Cuba has increased in case President Trump orders an attack on the country.
Trump may be eyeing an operation similar to the attack on Venezuela that resulted in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as Zeteo reported that the administration is discussing plans to “attack and kidnap Cuban leaders.”
Since the attack on Venezuela, which killed at least 83 people, including four civilians, the US has been dealing with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president, who was sworn in as acting president. The has eased sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to control its oil industry and oil experts, and has cut off Cuba from Venezuelan oil, part of a ramped-up blockade that’s caused a devastating humanitarian crisis in the country.
The US has been engaged in some negotiations with Cuba, but it’s unclear what sort of deal would satisfy the US, as the main driver of the policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would likely not accept an arrangement that keeps the current government in power.
On Monday, President Trump told USA Today that the US “may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this,” referencing the US-Israeli conflict against Iran. The president has previously said that he wants to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba” and that he feels that he “can do anything I want with it.”
In the face of the pressure and threats from the US, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said he will not step down and has vowed that Cuba is ready to fight.
“An invasion of Cuba would have costs. … It would affect the security of Cuba, the United States and of the region,” Diaz-Canel told NBC News in a recent interview. “If that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live.'”
