Trump May Think the U.S. is Going To “Stop By” Cuba, But It’s Not That Simple

Ignoring the embarrassment of failed “regime change” operations in Venezuela and Iran, the White House continues to ooze arrogance, even through failure

Photo by Ricardo IV Tamayo on Unsplash

If there’s one thing the United States is known for, it’s bragging about its military might. It’s so pervasive that many in the U.S. sound no different than the government does to overseas audiences. Let’s just say the trash talk has always been strong, but under Trump, and thanks in large part to his Christian nationalist military boss, “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth, the rhetoric has been taken to a whole new level. Trump has wrapped himself in what Hegseth has referred to as the military being “armed with the arsenal of faith,” and uses it as a shield from criticism.

Hegseth’s faith is described as Calvinist Christianity, rooted in predestination, the belief that God directs everything and wouldn’t allow something to happen if it wasn’t meant to. Hegseth’s views aren’t just extreme, but obviously fraudulent, as evidenced by his quoting Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction during a prayer as if he were reading it from scripture. The religious fraud espoused by Hegseth coincides with Trump’s actions regarding Christianity: he claims it as his own faith but knows little of it, and doesn’t practice it. Instead, they weaponize it to achieve their aims.

This Christian nationalist focus emboldened Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (who is now the special liaison ot the Shield of the Americas and the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition) to commit atrocities. Using Christianity as their shield, they created a humanitarian crisis at home with lawless immigration enforcement policy, killed innocent people in boat strikes in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, kidnapped a world leader in Venezuela, waged an ideological war against Iran, and made persistent months-long threats against the Cuban people.

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With everything else checked off the list, the White House’s threats against Cuba have grown more volatile in recent days, largely due to Trump reportedly being frustrated by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez being “defiant” for refusing to step down, according to Zeteo. Also reported by Zeteo: “officials at the Pentagon and elsewhere in the US government were quietly given a new directive that came straight from the Trump White House. The message: ramp up preparations for possible military operations against Cuba.”

What makes Cuba different than Venezuela is that Nicolás Maduro was indicted in federal court – on what appear to be trumped-up charges – giving the White House a pretext. The United States doesn’t have indictments and bounties out against any Cuban leaders due to Cuba being a vital counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics partner. However, that hasn’t stopped the Department of Justice from recently launching an investigation into leaders for alleged “drug, immigration, economic, and violent crimes,” and bringing fast indictments.

Similarly, Axios reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration informed Congress that it believes the Cuban government provided up to 5,000 troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine, a claim that the Cuban government has denied for over a year. Like Venezuela and Iran, the White House is rolling out pretext after pretext to manufacture consent from a Republican led Congress in both chambers for war with Cuba. These latest actions have led Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to declare that he would be introducing a war powers resolution next week to prevent the U.S. president from attacking Cuba.

“If [an attack] happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we [Cuban leaders] need to die, we’ll die,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez to Kristen Welker

Despite all the tough talk from the White House, like all the other countries mentioned here, the U.S. won’t just walk into Cuba and take it over. While it may remove or kill a leader, it will take a sustained war to achieve the all-out governmental change that Cuban American hardliners, including Marco Rubio, want to see. While it may seem that Trump wants to take attention off of his failure in attacking Iran, by attacking Cuba, he faces another monumental embarrassment.

One thing is certain: Cubans won’t go quietly.

More About the Current Situation, Courtesy of Belly of the Beast

U.S. Lawmakers Pramila Jayapal & Jonathan Jackson Speak in Cuba:

Why U.S. Policy Toward Cuba Violates International Law:

As the U.S. Wages Economic War on Cuba, These Women Are Building Bridges

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Arturo is an independent freelance journalist. He has written hundreds of articles on policing, immigration, race, and Latin America. His work has been featured in outlets such as Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.