U.S. general meets Cuban military officials at edge of Guantanamo Bay

In this Aug. 29, 2021, file photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, a flag flies at half-staff as seen from Camp Justice in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The top U.S. general overseeing forces in Latin America held a rare meeting on Friday with senior Cuban military officials at the perimeter of U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a U.S. official told Reuters.

U.S. General Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, briefly discussed operational security matters with the Cuban delegation, which included Cuban General Roberto Legra Sotolongo, first deputy minister of the chief of the General Staff, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Donovan’s meeting in Cuba is the first in recent memory by a head of Southern Command and comes amid growing concerns in Cuba of a possible U.S. military attack on the Communist-run island.

It follows a rare visit earlier in May by CIA ​Director ⁠John Ratcliffe to Havana.

U.S. President Donald Trump has often cited Cuba among the foreign policy goals of his second term and has hinted it will become his focus once the war with Iran is over.

U.S. antagonist

Cuba has been a U.S. antagonist for decades, since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

Trump is strongly supported by hardline Cuban Americans in Florida, who have pushed for U.S.-instigated regime change for decades, and his administration has been steadily ramping up pressure on the island.

On May 20, the U.S. formally charged former Cuban President Raul Castro with four counts of murder for the 1996 downing of civilian aircraft operated by Miami-based exiles.

The indictment was the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to assert U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Washington’s more assertive role in Latin America was epitomized by an audacious raid by the U.S. military on January 3 to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, and then fly him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Maduro, a socialist aligned with Havana, pleaded not guilty.

Rubio, Donovan photo

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who is seen as a possible contender for the 2028 Republican nomination for president, has raised alarm in Havana by talking about the national security risk posed by what he calls a failed state just 145 kilometres from Florida.

On May 5, Rubio and Donovan posed in front of a map of Cuba in a post on X by Donovan’s Southern Command. It said the talks focused on “U.S. efforts to counter threats that undermine security, stability and democracy in our hemisphere.”

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has warned that any military action would lead to a “bloodbath” in which thousands of Cubans and Americans would die.

Trump has effectively imposed a fuel blockade on the island by threatening tariffs on countries supplying it with fuel, igniting seemingly endless power outages and delivering new blows to the island’s already ailing economy.

Experts say instability in Cuba threatens a migration crisis.

Reporting by Phil Stewart, Editing by Franklin Paul, Rod Nickel