"Cuba Considers Striking the United States with Iranian and Russian Drones in an Emergency"

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[Financial News] Cuba, which has been locked in a standoff with the Donald Trump administration, is reportedly considering using Iranian and Russian drones to attack U.S. military bases in an emergency.
Axios reported on the 17th local time, citing what it said was classified information. The outlet said the Cuban government had begun discussing plans to use drones to attack the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, U.S. warships, and Key West in the State of Florida. Cuba has reportedly introduced attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and deployed them at strategic locations across the country. Their number is said to exceed 300. Cuba has also recently asked Russia for additional drones and military equipment over the past month.
U.S. intelligence authorities do not believe Cuba's threat is imminent or that Havana is actively planning an attack on the United States. However, they are paying attention to the fact that the Cuban government is refining its drone tactics in preparation for a possible armed conflict if relations between the two countries deteriorate further.
A U.S. official who spoke with Axios said the Trump administration views Cuba as a threat because of advances in drone tactics and the deployment of an Iranian military advisory group to the country. Axios said the classified information it reported could become a pretext for U.S. military action against Cuba.
The U.S. official said, "It is alarming to think that a range of rogue actors, from terrorist groups and drug cartels to Iran and Russia, are using this technology so close to home," adding, "This is an increasingly serious threat."
John Ratcliffe, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who made a surprise visit to Cuba on the 14th, issued a strong warning to Cuban authorities over hostile acts. According to a CIA official, Ratcliffe pressed Cuba to abandon its totalitarian regime if it wants U.S. sanctions lifted.
Cuba immediately pushed back against the Axios report. According to Deutsche Press Agency, Carlos Fernández de Cossío Domínguez, Cuba's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote on X that "an anti-Cuba campaign aimed at justifying military aggression against Cuba without any pretext is escalating by the hour with increasingly absurd accusations." He stressed that "the United States is the aggressor" and that "Cuba is the side under attack and is acting in accordance with the principle of self-defense."
pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter