US commander meets with Cuban military officials as Trump pressures island nation

Audio By Carbonatix

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. commander in Latin America met with Cuban military leaders on Friday in a “brief exchange on operational security matters” near the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, the latest official to visit the island nation as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on its leaders.

Trump has warned that Cuba “is next” after U.S. military forces captured Venezuela's autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a January raid. In recent months, the Trump administration has imposed an oil blockade, maintained warships in the Caribbean Sea and indicted a former Cuban leader on federal charges.

Top Trump aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA chief John Ratcliffe, have met with Cuban officials to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government.

Besides meeting Friday with Cuban military officials, U.S. Gen. Francis L. Donovan assessed the security of the U.S. naval base and discussed the “safety of service members and their families, and operational readiness with base officials,” U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X.

The U.S. still maintains the base in Guantanamo Bay despite decades of friction with Cuba's socialist leaders, whom Trump wants removed from power.

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

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