(Bloomberg) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Cuba not to acquire armaments that could put the US military, or the US mainland, at risk.
Hegseth, speaking to troops Wednesday at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, in eastern Cuba, urged the island’s communist leadership to be cautious.
“It would be unwise for the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland,” he said. “They would be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want but they could not stand.”
Last month, Axios reported that Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones and had discussed plans to attack Guantanamo Bay or Key West, just 90 miles north. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denied that Cuba represented a threat, but said at the time the island had “an absolute and legitimate right to defend itself.”
Hegseth’s visit isn’t unprecedented for a US defense chief, but it is notable as President Donald Trump’s administration escalates its threats toward the island’s leadership. Hegseth previously visited Guantanamo in February 2025, and was deployed there during a 14-year tenure with the National Guard.
In May, two other top Trump officials — General Francis Donovan, the leader of US Southern Command, and Central Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe — also traveled to Cuba. The administration is squeezing the island of 10 million people, cutting off most fuel shipments and imposing sweeping sanctions as it tries to end nearly seven decades of one-party rule in Havana.
While the US and Cuba have been in prolonged negotiations, there are few signs that a deal is imminent. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio want to see Díaz-Canel removed, while Cuban officials insist their system of government and leadership aren’t up for debate.
Hegseth also used Wednesday’s visit to reassert Washington’s supremacy in the Americas. He told troops that US actions in the region, including in Venezuela — where special forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in January — were examples of the “Donroe doctrine,” Trump’s take on the 19th-century US push for regional dominance.
“We are defending the homeland and we are taking back our hemisphere,” he said.
–With assistance from Jen Judson.
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