US officials are working to create pretexts for a potential war on Cuba, as President Trump has made clear that the island nation is in his administration’s crosshairs.
Late last week, US media outlets reported that the Department of Justice is taking steps to indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro, the brother of long-time leader Fidel Castro.
The reports said that the US may indict him over the downing of a plane belonging to a Cuban exile organization in 1996, which killed four people. The potential indictment comes as President Trump is overseeing a bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the region, which has killed nearly 200 people, who were all civilians.
If the US indicts Castro, the administration could follow a similar playbook as it did with the attack on Venezuela, which was carried out to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
A report from Axios on Sunday also presented a new potential pretext: Cuba’s alleged acquisition of military drones. The report, which cited unnamed US officials and purported “classified intelligence,” said that Cuba has more than 300 drones and that it’s seeking more amid the ramped-up US oil embargo and threats of US military action.
The report, which acknowledged the drone claims could be used as a “pretext for US military action,” said Cuba has been discussing the possibility of using the drones to attack “the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US military vessels and possibly Key West, Florida, 90 miles north of Havana.”
Buried in the Axios report is an acknowledgment that US officials “don’t believe Cuba is an imminent threat, or actively planning to attack American interests,” but that US intelligence assesses the “island’s military officials have been discussing drone warfare plans in case hostilities erupt as relations with the US continue to deteriorate.”
President Trump has repeatedly threatened war against Cuba, saying back in March that he may “have the honor of taking Cuba.” The US and Cuba have been engaged in talks, which included a visit from CIA Director John Ratcliffe last week, but it’s unclear what sort of agreement the administration would accept, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is leading the policy, has made clear he wants regime change.
