Is Cuba Next On Trump’s Radar? Let’s Hope So

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Freedom for Cuba is long overdue. U.S. warns Cuba’s leadership: “Don’t play games” with Trump. The sharpening U.S. rhetoric toward Communist Cuba comes after its successful military operation in Venezuela, signaling a tougher approach toward Havana unless the Communist-run island changes its ways (and government?).

“The Cuban government has a choice,” Jeremy Lewin, a State Department official, told reporters. If Havana continues repression and steals from recent shipments of US aid, the country will be held accountable, he said.

The special operations raid that captured Venezuela’s narco dictator Nicolas Maduro in Caracas earlier this month should make Havana take U.S. threats seriously, Lewin added.

“What’s going on in Venezuela should make clear to the Cuban regime and every other despot around the world that you don’t play games with President Trump,” Lewin said. “Weakness and disorder, strife and foreign interference in our hemisphere is done.”

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío called “apocalyptic threats against Cuba” from the State Department “clear miscalculations” in a post on X.

The State Department announced Wednesday that it was sending $3 million in “much-needed disaster relief to the Cuban people affected by Hurricane Melissa.”

The shipments, which included food, water treatment kits, kitchen equipment, blankets, and solar lanterns, were sent from Miami to the eastern cities of Holguin and Santiago de Cuba.

This, as Communist Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane carrying urns with remains of the 32 Cuban special protection troops killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela, as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana’s airport.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

Air Force’s Boeing MH-139 Grey Wolf has commenced operational nuclear security duties, completing its first convoy escort mission protecting intercontinental ballistic missile sites at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.

Pentagon says it will “refocus” Stars & Stripes content after taking over editorial content decision-making for the increasingly woke news outlet.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Just do it. Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy U.S. military forces to Minnesota and quell growing protests producing violent encounters with federal immigration agents.

DEFENSE POLITICS

It is about unit effectiveness, not individual achievement. Female troops bristle at Pentagon’s review of combat roles. At least 154 women have earned the vaunted black-and-gold Ranger tab.

In a confirmation hearing, Trump’s nominee for top uniformed cyber chief said, if confirmed, he would evaluate the efficacy of the dual-hat leadership role between Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, touching on one of the community’s most heated policy debates.

Tiny drop in a huge bucket. The Trump administration’s effort to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War could cost taxpayers anywhere from $10 million to $125 million.

Adm. Kevin Lunday was sworn in as the Coast Guard’s 28th commandant, nearly a year after he had been acting in the role.

US POWER OVERSEAS

Navy and Marine aviation accidents doubled in 2025 amid the Red Sea fight, though only two sailors were killed in a flying accident. Accidents among sailors and Marines underway on warships actually dropped slightly.

NARCO THREAT

The U.S. is escalating pressure on Mexico to allow U.S. forces to fight cartels by targeting fentanyl labs in the country.

VENEZUELA RAID & OIL

U.S. seizes sixth sanctioned tanker it says has ties to Venezuela, part of broader effort to take control of the country’s oil.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump during high stakes encounter that could affect how Trump, who earlier praised Venezuela’s communist interim president, seeks to shape the South American country’s political future.

IRAN CRISIS

Pentagon moving USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group from South China Sea toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to rise.

GREENLAND CRISIS

Several NATO countries are sending scouting troops to Greenland amid Trump’s rhetoric of potential annexation, continuing a balancing act of offering a win to Washington while preserving Denmark’s territorial integrity.

Americans broadly oppose Trump’s latest foreign policy ambitions in Greenland, according to a new poll, and are skeptical about U.S. incursions abroad.

CHINA THREAT

As tensions rise in the Pacific, U.S. partners say they are in it for the long haul. The military balance is “shifting dramatically and rapidly” in Indo-Pacific, and “provocative military activities are intensifying” in the western and southern Pacific, Japan’s minister of defense said.

RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR

Russia’s oil and gas revenue – its leading source of income for its Ukraine war machine – fell by 24% in 2025, diving to a five-year low.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE

How war has reshaped Europe’s defense sector. NATO’s European members have rallied to the U.S. call to increase defense spending since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Europe’s aerospace and defense index gaining 55% over the past year.

As the country seeks to bolster its military, French President Emmanuel Macron fired a warning shot to its defense industry, saying France’s armed forces could turn to European suppliers if they can deliver equipment faster or more efficiently.

Amid Europe’s defense boom, Czechoslovak Group, a Prague-based maker of Tatra military vehicles and one of Europe’s largest ammunition manufacturers, is to seek a stock-market listing in the coming weeks as the company looks to boost international visibility and secure funding for future growth.

Latvia eyes indirect fires with the purchase of Archer 155mm self-propelled howitzers made by BAE Systems for the country’s armed forces. As the first customer to buy Archer, Latvia aims to strengthen its cooperation with Sweden.

US MILITARY

U.S. military to replace all different versions of the famous Minigun in service with a new standardized type to be designated GAU-24/A. The iconic six-barrel Gatling-type 7.62x51mm machine gun, capable of firing thousands of rounds per minute, first entered service in the 1960s.

The Navy is moving swiftly to integrate and deploy unmanned surface vessels, with three USV divisions to be created next week and two medium USVs operating under fleet control this year.

Saildrone will equip its unmanned surface vessels with strike missiles made by Lockheed Martin.

Army competition tests medics’ ability to keep wounded soldiers alive on the battlefield beyond ‘golden hour’, where they no longer will be able to rely on quick medical evacuations.

Top enlisted soldier, Sgt. Maj. of the Army acknowledged he overpromised when he announced back in 2024 that the service was coming out with a new and redesigned physical training uniform for soldiers.

Watchdog issued urgent advisory over two AI chat tools currently in use by VA health care providers, citing “potential patient safety risks.”

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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