US commander meets with Cuban military officials as Trump pressures nation

Trump has warned that Cuba “is next” after the US military captured Venezuela’s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro in a raid in January. In the months since, the Trump administration has imposed an oil blockade on Cuba, serviced warships in the Caribbean Sea and indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on federal charges.

General Francis Donovan, head of the US Southern Command, met with Lieutenant General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo and other Cuban military officials.

The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces said in a statement that both sides “positively assessed the meeting as it addressed security issues along the border between the military enclave and agreed to maintain communications between the two military commands.”

Top Trump aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA chief John Ratcliffe, have also met with Cuban officials to explore possible improvements in relations.

But the American side is unmoved by these talks, which has led to even more sanctions against the Cuban government.

In addition to the meeting, Donovan also reviewed the security of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay and discussed the “safety of service members and their families, and operational readiness with base officials,” the U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X.

The US retains the base despite decades of friction with Cuba’s socialist leaders, whom Trump wants to remove from power.

The U.S. military has a handful of naval vessels, including at least one amphibious assault ship, in the Caribbean, a much smaller force than was present at the time of the Maduro attack.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced that a new unit of 1,300 sailors and Marines would replace the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which deployed to the region last summer.