Cuba acquiring attack drones, discussing strikes on US targets - report

Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and has begun discussing plans to use them to attack the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US military vessels, and possibly Key West, Florida, 90 miles north of Havana. This is all according to classified intelligence shared with Axios.

It was reported that Cuba has been acquiring attack drones of varying capabilities from Russia and Iran since 2023 and has stashed them in strategic locations across the island. Within the past month, Cuban officials sought more drones and military equipment from Russia, with intelligence intercepts indicating Cuban officials are "trying to learn about how Iran has resisted us."

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba and warned officials against engaging in hostilities, also urging them to get rid of their current government to end US sanctions. "The Western Hemisphere cannot be our adversaries' playground," a CIA official said. US officials estimate that as many as 5,000 Cuban soldiers have fought for Russia in Ukraine, with Russia paying Cuba's government approximately 25,000 dollars per soldier deployed. 

It is not believed that Cuba is an imminent threat or actively planning to attack American interests, but military officials have been discussing drone warfare plans in case hostilities erupt. US military and intelligence agencies have increased surveillance flights around and near Cuba in recent weeks. Navy and Air Force surveillance planes and drones have increased flights since February, often near Cuba's coast.

Experts say the visible flights are designed to send a message to Cuban authorities as a show of force. Cuba's deputy FM Carlos Fernández de Cossío responded on X, saying the flights are part of "a coldly calculated communications strategy" and warned that "those who participate in it would be complicit in the eventual bloodbath."