US President Donald Trump and his administration are “planning” for an invasion of Cuba, according to reports. Two unnamed sources have told USA Today that military plans for a possible operation against the Caribbean country are ramping up.
Tensions between Cuba and the US have remained high for weeks. A US blockade on energy has led to shortages on the island, affecting healthcare, transport and its economy. Cuba produces 40% of the fuel it consumes and it stopped receiving vital oil shipments from Venezuela after the US military attacked the South American country in January.
USA Today reports that two sources told the publication on condition of anonymity that military planning efforts are being stepped up in case Donald Trump issues an order to “intervene” in the island nation.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Sunday (April 12) that the US has no valid reason to carry out a military attack against his country or to attempt to depose him.
The president told NBC an invasion of Cuba would be costly and affect regional security. But he warned that if it did happen then Cubans would defend themselves.
Mr Díaz-Canel, speaking through a translator, said: “If the time comes, I don’t think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba, or for the US to undertake a surgical operation or the kidnapping of a president.”
He added: “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’.”
Mr Trump said the following day that after “finishing” the war in Iran, the US “may stop by Cuba”. He has also said previously that “Cuba is going to be next”.
The news outlet, Zeteo, reported on Tuesday that officials at the Pentagon and elsewhere in the government were “quietly” given a new directive which the publication said was straight from the White House.
It said the message included an order to ramp up preparations for possible military operations against Cuba.
Relations between the US and Cuba have been fraught for decades. In 1961, about 1,500 Cuban exiles, with the backing of the CIA, attempted to invade the island at the Bay of Pigs in a bid to overthrow Fidel Castro’s fledgling Communist government.
The US and Soviet Union came the closest to nuclear war the following year after the Russians agreed a secret deal with Castro to place nuclear missiles on Cuba to deter any future invasion.
