Cuban premier Miguel Diaz-Canel predicted on Monday that there would be a “bloodbath of incalculable consequences” if the US defends itself against a Cuban military attack, responding to a report that claimed the Communist Party was gathering drones to attack Florida.
The claim appeared on Washington DC website Axios, which cited “classified intelligence” to claim that Cuba currently has more than 300 military drones and is considering bombing Florida. The report blamed Russia and Iran for supplying the technology needed to make the threat real and claimed the Castro regime is worried about President Donald Trump’s administration taking military action against the 67-year-old regime.
Axios claimed that Cuban Communist Party leaders “began discussing plans to use them to attack the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military ships, and possibly Key West.” The report claims that Cuba was specifically attempting to persuade the Russian government to supply the drones given Cuba’s role in sending fighters to assist in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Iran’s government has not directly responded to claims at press time that it is helping Cuba. However, Iran has expanded its arms sales globally over the past decade. Inexpensive “Martyr” drones have become one of the key pieces of hardware in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as identified by the Ukrainian military, and Iran has sought out allies to sell its defense technology. In 2023, during the presidency of socialist Luis Arce, the Bolivian government reportedly reached an agreement to purchase a shipment of Iranian drones for its self-defense, which alarmed international geopolitical observers.
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The Kremlin issued a statement on Monday confirming only that it was “in constant contact with our Cuban friends.”
“Of course, we regularly exchange information and ideas on how to reduce the heavy burden imposed by the blockade,” top Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring to US sanctions on Cuba.
The Trump administration has reportedly been in talks with the Castro regime for months as tensions have escalated, with the U.S. government ultimately resulting in sanctions on the regime in response to decades of gross human rights atrocities and alliance with U.S. enemies. The Axios report follows rumors that the Trump administration is looking to take legal action against 94-year-old dictator Raul Castro for his role in the 1996 killing of four Americans in the Brothers to the Rescue terrorist attack by Cuban forces. Castro has maintained a reputation for ruthlessness since long before his brother Fidel overthrew the country in 1959, establishing himself as his elder brother’s favorite executioner during the early days of firing squads and concentration camps.
Díaz-Canel claimed in his comments that Cuba had no “plans or aggressive intentions against any country”, including the United States. He also denied that the Cuban communist regime had ever planned aggression against the United States, a claim easily refuted by the Brothers to the Rescue murders in 1996. He also referred to alleged US threats to Cuba as an “international crime”.
He wrote of the threats, “If they were to be implemented, they would provoke bloodshed with incalculable consequences, as well as have a devastating impact on peace and regional stability.”
“Cuba, which is already suffering multidimensional aggression from the United States, has an absolute and legitimate right to defend itself from aggressive attack,” he added, “which cannot rationally or honestly be interpreted as a pretext for imposing war against the great people of Cuba.”
Separately, the country’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez reiterated that Cuba has the right to attack the United States if necessary in “legitimate defense.”
Rodriguez claimed, “Those who want to hurt Cuba illegally use any pretext, no matter how false or ridiculous, to justify an attack contrary to American and global public opinion.”
However, simultaneously, Rodríguez’s ministry published a statement reiterating that Cuba was ready to attack the United States.
“No one should doubt the determination of the Cuban people to defend their sovereignty, their independence and their self-determination,” the statement said.
The belligerent statements come after a rare visit to Havana by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, in addition to months of alleged talks.
Trump claimed in public statements last week that Washington and Havana would discuss cooperation, writing in a post on his website Truth Social, “Cuba is asking for help, and we’re going to talk!!!” While most people on the island have been poor for decades as a result of communist corruption, conditions for the island’s elite have worsened significantly since January, when a US law enforcement operation captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Maduro was one of the Castro regime’s closest allies and provided a steady stream of free or subsidized oil to help fuel generators for specific areas of the island. Under successor Delcy Rodriguez that resource has dried up, leaving Cuba regularly on the verge of running out of fuel.
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