Miami (AFP) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the US military base at Guantanamo Bay on Wednesday, warning the communist-led island of Cuba against acquiring weapons that could threaten the United States.

Washington has ramped up pressure against Cuba with sanctions and a crippling oil blockade, and President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be the next to fall to US pressure, after Venezuela in January.

“It would be unwise for the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland,” Hegseth said in remarks to US troops at the base.

“They would be inviting the kind of confrontation not only do they not want, but they could not stand,” said Hegseth, dressed in a green t-shirt and black shorts for physical fitness training with US forces.

“What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of… the president of the United States and the leadership of Cuba,” he said.

US media outlet Axios reported last month that Cuba had obtained more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the Guantanamo base, US military vessels and possibly even Florida.

Cuba has been acquiring attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and is seeking to buy more, US officials told Axios.

Havana slammed the report, with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accusing the United States of baselessly plotting for its next war.

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