The regime of Cuba intensified its verbal confrontation with the United States this Sunday by warning that any military intervention on the island would provoke a ''bloodbath''. The threat was pronounced by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla amid growing diplomatic tensions and U.S. intelligence reports about the acquisition of Russian and Iranian military drones by the communist government.
The official's statements came after Axios published information based on U.S. intelligence sources claiming that Havana purchased more than 300 military drones and is evaluating possible scenarios for use against U.S. targets in the Caribbean. Among the concerns mentioned by Washington officials are potential threats to the Guantanamo naval base, U.S. military vessels, and even areas close to Florida.
''Cuba is a peaceful country, but if it is attacked militarily, it will exercise its right to self-defense to the last consequences,'' Rodríguez stated during an interview. He then added that any offensive from Washington would result in ''a bloodbath,'' in one of the most aggressive warnings issued by the Cuban regime in recent years.
The international reaction was swift. Several critical sectors of Castroism interpreted the statements as a new demonstration of the belligerent rhetoric of a regime facing a deep internal crisis that constantly uses confrontation with the United States to divert attention from the economic and social problems plaguing the island.
According to the published information, U.S. officials find the growing military link between Cuba, Russia, and Iran particularly alarming. The possibility of war drone technology being located less than 150 kilometers from U.S. territory raised alarms in Washington.
''When we think about that kind of technology so close, and about malign actors including Iranians, Russians, terrorist groups, and cartels, it is unsettling,'' declared a U.S. official quoted anonymously. ''It is a growing threat,'' he added.
Concerns are further heightened by the presence of Iranian military advisors in Havana and the intelligence cooperation that the Cuban regime has maintained for years with strategic adversaries of the West. Security experts argue that Cuba seeks to re-establish itself as a geopolitical platform for hostile actors against the United States in the Western Hemisphere.
The Cuban Foreign Minister responded by accusing Washington of trying to justify a potential military escalation. He also questioned the presence of the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, one of the regime's historical demands.
