Cuba

UN Ambassador Mike Waltz:

"The Cuban regime is a national security threat and this administration is not going to stand for it any longer"

A nationwide blackout has hit Cuba after its power grid collapsed. - Sky News

Cuba's national power grid collapsed Monday, leaving around 10 million people without electricity. The cause remains under investigation.

Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel to Sky News:

If there is an attack, the Cuban people will respond in unity, firmness, and in defense of our sovereignty.

We don't want the war, but we're not afraid of it.

And we are getting ready so that we're not surprised or defeated.

Trump: "Speaking of Cuba, after many many decades, it's coming our way"

Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel:

The aid from the United States is insignificant compared to the damage the blockade has caused Cuba.

According to the latest estimates, the blockade costs Cuba more than five billion dollars every year.

And then they come with one hundred million dollars.

Cuba's Raúl Castro, 95, seen in public a month after his U.S. indictment.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Cuba and U.S. Central Command yesterday, meeting with service members conducting operations on behalf of the United States.

Hegseth described the troops as embodying "the definition of deterrence."

@DeptofWar

War Secretary, Pete Hegseth:

What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba.

No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared and postured for any possible contingency.

Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov on Cuba:

Now clouds are gathering over Cuba.

I don't exclude that before the midterm elections in November, there may be yet another very dangerous move from Washington, to prove the success of the Republican administration.

It'll be sad.

U.S. sanctions Cuban leader Díaz-Canel in latest pressure move against Cuba.

President Trump: “We'll handle Cuba after we take care of Iran.”

A Russian tanker with 242,000 barrels of diesel bound for Cuba has changed course toward South America, dealing another blow to the island's fuel crisis. Cuba's reserves are empty, power runs a few hours daily, and black-market fuel exceeds $40 a gallon. The ship sat idle in the Atlantic for a month before turning south. - NYT

President Trump says he favors a peaceful transition of power in Cuba. - Axios

Cuban FM: Rubio was not born in Cuba. He does not know Cuba. He knows nothing about Cuba.

China and Russia have tripled intelligence personnel in Cuba since 2023 to staff eavesdropping facilities aimed at U.S. military sites in Florida. China runs 3 of 18 known signals-intelligence sites on the island, Russia runs 2. Primary targets are CENTCOM in Tampa and SOUTHCOM near Miami. Equipment mostly intercepts unclassified communications. The Trump administration is citing the buildup to escalate pressure on Havana. - WSJ

Senator Graham:

I believe the liberation of the wonderful people of Cuba from the clutches of communism is close at hand.

CIA Director Ratcliffe brought the paramilitary leader who helped capture Maduro to last week's Cuba meeting. 32 Cuban personnel were killed in the January operation, according to Havana. Ratcliffe introduced him as the one responsible, a direct message to Cuban officials. - CBS News

SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis Donovan is meeting with U.S. Secretary of War/Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon today at Hegseth’s request, a source tells MS NOW, as USS Nimitz arrived in the Caribbean this week amid heightened tensions with Cuba.

Cuban FM: The U.S. "has engaged in provoking desperation among the population and the collapse of the economy."

Cuban FM on Rubio: "Lies once again to instigate military aggression."

Trump: "Looks like I'll be the one that does something on Cuba."

Reporter: Regarding Cuba, there was an aircraft carrier that just arrived there. Are you sending that there to intimidate the Cuban government?

Trump: Not at all. We’re going to help them.

Trump on Cuba: "It's a failed country, everybody knows it. They don't have electricity, they don't have money, they don't have really anything... and we're going to help them along."