US general holds rare meeting with Cuban military officials near Guantanamo Bay

The top U.S. general overseeing forces in Latin America held a rare meeting on Friday with senior Cuban military officials at the perimeter of U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba , the U.S. military said on Friday, confirming a Reuters story.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan , the head of U.S. Southern Command, briefly discussed operational security matters with the Cuban delegation, which included Cuban Gen. Roberto Legra Sotolongo, first deputy minister of the chief of the General Staff, U.S. Southern Command said on X.

“Donovan also led a perimeter security assessment of the naval base and discussed force protection, safety of service members and their families, and operational readiness with base officials,” it said.

Donovan’s meeting in Cuba is the first in recent memory by a head of Southern Command and comes amid growing concerns in Cuba of a possible U.S. military attack on the Communist-run island.

Cuba’s armed forces said on Facebook that the meeting took place with mutual agreement and that both sides agreed to maintain communication.

“Both delegations evaluate positively the meeting where issues related to security around the dividing perimeter of the military enclave were addressed and agreed to maintain communication between both military commands,” the statement said.

The meeting follows a rare visit earlier in May by CIA ​Director ⁠John Ratcliffe to Havana.

President Donald Trump has often cited Cuba among the foreign policy goals of his second term and has hinted it will become his focus once the war with Iran is over.

Cuba has been a U.S. antagonist for decades, since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

Trump is strongly supported by hardline Cuban Americans in Florida, who have pushed for U.S.-instigated regime change for decades, and his administration has been steadily ramping up pressure on the island.

On May 20, the U.S. formally charged former President Raul Castro with four counts of murder for the 1996 downing of civilian aircraft operated by Miami-based exiles.

The indictment was the latest example of the Trump administration’s efforts to assert U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.

Washington’s more assertive role in Latin America was epitomized by an audacious raid by the U.S. military on Jan. 3 to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, and then fly him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Maduro, a socialist aligned with Havana, pleaded not guilty.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who is seen as a possible contender for the 2028 Republican nomination for president, has raised alarm in Havana by talking about the national security risk posed by what he calls a failed state just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.

On May 5, Rubio and Donovan posed in front of a map of Cuba in a post on X by Donovan’s Southern Command. It said the talks focused on “U.S. efforts to counter threats that undermine security, stability and democracy in our hemisphere.”

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has warned that any military action would lead to a “bloodbath” in which thousands of Cubans and Americans would die.

Trump has effectively imposed a fuel blockade on the island by threatening tariffs on countries supplying it with fuel, igniting seemingly endless power outages and delivering new blows to the island’s already ailing economy.

Experts say instability in Cuba threatens a migration crisis.

美国军方周五证实了路透社的报道，称负责指挥驻拉美部队的最高美军将领周五在古巴关塔那摩湾美国海军基地附近与古巴高级军官举行了一次罕见的会晤。

美国南方司令部表示，美国海军陆战队上将、美国南方司令部司令弗朗西斯·多诺万与古巴代表团进行了简短的作战安全问题讨论，古巴代表团成员包括古巴总参谋部第一副部长罗伯托·莱格拉·索托隆戈上将。

“多诺万还领导了对海军基地周边安全评估，并与基地官员讨论了部队保护、军人及其家属的安全以及作战准备情况，”声明中写道。

多诺万此次在古巴的会晤是近年来南方司令部司令首次访问古巴，而此时古巴国内对美国可能对这个共产党统治的岛国发动军事攻击的担忧日益加剧。

古巴武装部队在脸书上表示，此次会晤是在双方同意的情况下举行的，双方同意保持沟通。

声明称：“双方代表团对此次会晤给予了积极评价，会晤中讨论了军事飞地分界线周边的安全问题，并同意保持两个军事指挥部之间的沟通。”

此次会晤是在中央情报局局长约翰·拉特克利夫5月初罕见地访问哈瓦那之后举行的。

唐纳德·特朗普总统经常将古巴列为他第二个任期的外交政策目标之一，并暗示一旦与伊朗的战争结束，古巴将成为他的工作重点。

自菲德尔·卡斯特罗1959年革命以来，古巴几十年来一直是美国的对手。

特朗普在佛罗里达州得到了强硬派古巴裔美国人的大力支持，这些人几十年来一直推动美国发起的政权更迭，而他的政府也一直在稳步加大对古巴的压力。

5月20日，美国正式指控前总统劳尔·卡斯特罗犯有四项谋杀罪，罪名是他在1996年击落了由迈阿密流亡者运营的民用飞机。

这份起诉书是特朗普政府努力在西半球确立美国影响力的最新例证。

华盛顿在拉丁美洲扮演的更加强硬的角色，以1月3日美国军方在加拉加斯的一次大胆突袭行动为代表。该行动逮捕了委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗，然后将其押送至纽约，面临毒品走私指控。

与哈瓦那结盟的社会主义者马杜罗拒不不认罪。

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥是古巴移民的儿子，被视为 2028 年共和党总统候选人提名的有力竞争者。他谈到距离佛罗里达州仅 90 英里（145 公里）的古巴这个他称之为“失败国家”的国家所构成的国家安全风险，这在哈瓦那引起了警觉。

5月5日，卢比奥和多诺万在多诺万的南方司令部网站X上发布了一张在古巴地图前合影的照片。照片显示，会谈重点是“美国为应对破坏西半球安全、稳定和民主的威胁所做的努力”。

古巴外交部长布鲁诺·罗德里格斯警告说，任何军事行动都将导致“血腥屠杀”，数千名古巴人和美国人将因此丧生。

特朗普威胁要对向该岛供应燃料的国家征收关税，实际上对该岛实施了燃料封锁，引发了看似无休止的停电，并给该岛本已疲弱的经济带来了新的打击。

专家表示，古巴局势不稳定可能引发移民危机。