US weighs drone threat from Cuba: Report

Cuba has seized more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US military ships and possibly even Florida, Axios reported Sunday, citing classified intelligence.

The report comes at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Havana and amid speculation that the United States might argue for military action against the communist-run island.

This development underlines the Trump administration’s concern about the threat from Cuba due to developments in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisors in Havana, Axios reported, citing a senior US official.

“It’s alarming when we consider that these types of technologies are so close at hand and that there are a number of bad actors, from terrorist groups to drug cartels, from Iranians to Russians,” an unnamed official said. “This is a growing threat.”

Cuba has been buying attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and is trying to buy more, U.S. officials told Axios.

Havana harshly criticized the report, portraying the United States as the aggressor and Cuba as the victim.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said on

The report comes just days after CIA Director John Radcliffe visited Havana, where Cubans are subject to rolling power outages due to President Donald Trump’s fuel embargo.

According to Axios, Radcliff warned officials in Havana not to engage in hostilities.

“Director Ratcliffe has made clear that Cuba can no longer serve as a platform for adversaries to advance hostile agendas in our hemisphere,” an unnamed CIA official was quoted by Axios as saying. he said.

The communist island has been at loggerheads with successive US administrations since the 1960s, and the southern state of Florida is home to a large politically influential Cuban exile community.

Earlier this month, Trump said the United States would “seize” the Caribbean island, just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, “almost immediately.”

He also said Cuba would be next after a U.S. military operation to oust Venezuela’s longtime leader Nicolas Maduro.

US media also reported that US authorities were trying to implicate Raul Castro, the 94-year-old brother of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro.