U.S. intelligence says Cuba may target Guantanamo with drones

U.S. intelligence has raised alarms that Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and has discussed using them against Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and possibly Key West, Florida, a scenario that would put one of America’s most sensitive military outposts back at the center of a homeland-security crisis.

Naval Station Guantanamo Bay was established in 1903 and is the oldest U.S. overseas military installation. Set on Cuba’s southeastern coast about 430 miles southeast of Miami, the base has long symbolized the bitter U.S.-Cuba standoff, a tension that also framed the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world came close to nuclear war over Soviet missiles placed in Cuba.

The intelligence shared with U.S. officials points to a drone buildup that has been under way since 2023, with Cuba acquiring attack drones from Russia and Iran and seeking to buy more. The Trump administration views that expansion as part of a broader threat picture shaped by advances in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisers in Havana. A senior U.S. official said the concern extends beyond Cuba itself to a wider network of bad actors, including terror groups, drug cartels, Iranians and Russians.

Havana moved quickly to reject the allegations. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said U.S. military action against Cuba would lead to a “bloodbath,” warning of “incalculable consequences” for regional peace and stability. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla called the allegations fraudulent and accused Washington of building a pretext for military aggression. The Cuban Embassy in Washington said Cuba has the right to defend itself under international law and the U.N. Charter.

The flare-up came amid a broader tightening of pressure on the island. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions on Cuba on May 7, targeting the country’s military-industrial enterprise, its leader and a state-owned natural resources company. With Guantanamo again at the center of the dispute, the question is not only whether Cuba has the means to act, but how Washington chooses to read a fast-evolving drone threat on the edge of one of the Caribbean’s most volatile flashpoints.