Cuba has begun preparing its armed forces for a potential external threat following renewed rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently suggested the possibility of taking control of the Caribbean nation.
Speaking amid rising tensions, Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, said the country is taking precautionary steps in light of global developments and Washington’s posture.
“Our military is always prepared, and in fact it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression,” he said. “We would be naive [not to consider it], looking at what’s happening around the world.”
The comments follow a series of statements by Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that Cuba’s government is weakening. After recent nationwide blackouts linked to the island’s worsening energy crisis, he told reporters he could soon have “the honor of taking Cuba.”
“Taking Cuba in some form … whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it,” Trump said, adding that the country is “a very weakened nation right now.”
The escalating rhetoric comes as Cuba grapples with severe economic strain, including widespread electricity outages and fuel shortages driven in part by tightened U.S. sanctions and an ongoing oil blockade.
Despite the tensions, U.S. military officials have publicly downplayed the likelihood of any imminent invasion, emphasizing that current efforts are focused on economic pressure rather than direct military action.
Cuban authorities, however, insist they are not taking any chances, maintaining that preparedness is essential even if the probability of conflict remains low.
