The War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Cuba would be “inviting” a confrontation if it acquires weapons capable of threatening Guantánamo Bay or the U.S. homeland.
Hegseth issued a stark warning to Cuba on Wednesday during a visit to Guantánamo Bay, cautioning Havana against acquiring weapons capable of threatening the U.S. homeland or the American naval base on the island.
Speaking to American troops after joining them for morning physical training at the base, Hegseth emphasized the strategic importance of Guantánamo Bay and America&#8217;s long-standing presence there.
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According to a recent <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/17/us-military-drones-cuba">Axios report</a> citing U.S. officials, Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and has discussed potential plans to use them against Guantánamo Bay or even targets in Florida, including Key West. U.S. officials told the outlet that Havana has continued seeking additional drones and military equipment from Russia, while intelligence intercepts reportedly suggest Cuban officials are also studying how Iran has resisted U.S. pressure.
“It would be unwise for the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that can reach this bay or the American homeland,” he said. “They would be inviting the kind of confrontation that they not only don’t want, but they could not stand.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://x.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SECWAR</a> “Then you look at Cuba…
That government has decisions to make about what kind of reforms it wants to pursue—it’s not my job to make that decision for them.
It’s our job at the WAR DEPARTMENT to be prepared for whatever our Commander in Chief asks us to do on behalf of… <a href="https://t.co/sYZKYPGQZD">pic.twitter.com/sYZKYPGQZD</a>
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/2064763483208520176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Cuban government has strongly <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgpyg9peq9o">denied</a> the allegations. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused the United States of constructing a “fraudulent case” to justify military action and insisted that Havana “neither threatens nor desires war.”
The visit comes amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and Cuba. In recent months, President Donald Trump’s administration has intensified economic pressure on Havana through sanctions and an oil blockade while signaling a more aggressive posture toward the communist regime.
“We hope soon that we can be a friend to the leadership of Cuba,” Hegseth added. “For now, let’s see what happens, but the Department of War will give the Commander in Chief every single option he needs.”
Before participating in the workout, Hegseth delivered a similar message, saying, “What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba.”
“No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared and postured for any possible contingency,” he added.
Hegseth noted that he served at Guantánamo Bay roughly two decades ago as part of the detention mission following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
“This was then and is here today a very important and strategic piece of American terrain,” he said. “We’re here from the Department of War to get a chance to see it and make sure it’s as strong as it can possibly be.”
Hegseth also used the visit to highlight the administration’s broader security focus in the Western Hemisphere, including ongoing counternarcotics operations.
“I would not get into a drug boat in the Caribbean or the Eastern Pacific right now,” he told troops. “We are hunting you like we hunted Al Qaeda and ISIS.”
He added that “we are defending the homeland and we are taking back our hemisphere.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://x.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SECWAR</a> “WE ARE DEFENDING THE HOMELAND AND WE ARE TAKING BACK OUR HEMISPHERE…
This president came in and said NOT ONLY is the Monroe Doctrine alive—not only does the Roosevelt Corollary live—BUT NOW WE HAVE THE DONROE DOCTRINE.” <a href="https://t.co/LPpBuAFQ0A">pic.twitter.com/LPpBuAFQ0A</a>
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) <a href="https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/2064755993657901405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Guantánamo Bay, located on Cuba’s southeastern coast roughly 430 miles from Miami, has housed a U.S. naval base for more than a century and became globally known for the detention facility established after the September 11 attacks.
The administration&#8217;s increased focus was highlighted last month by Secretary of State Marco Rubio who delivered a direct message to the Cuban people, accusing the communist government of enriching itself while citizens face food shortages, fuel shortages, blackouts, and political repression.
“The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people,” Rubio said.
Rubio said the Trump administration is prepared to provide $100 million in food and medicine to the Cuban people through religious and charitable organizations rather than the Cuban government. He also argued that Cuba&#8217;s leadership remains the primary obstacle to improved relations with the United States.
“In the U.S., we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries,” Rubio said. “Currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”
The administration&#8217;s focus on Cuba has also included a series of high-level engagements by senior U.S. officials. In recent months, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, have both traveled to the island. 
Hegseth departed Guantánamo Bay later Wednesday and traveled to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, where he met with U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.

DOW Secretary Hegseth Addresses Graduates At West Point Commencement

Hegseth Delivers Stark Ultimatum To Havana After Reports Of Cuban Drone Buildup

Hegseth Delivers Warning To Havana Amid Reports Of Cuban Drone Buildup

Cuba

Guantanamo Bay

Pete Hegseth

The Trump administration delivered a sweeping blow to the Cuban regime on Thursday, sanctioning its president, members of the Castro family dynasty, Cuba&#8217;s military ministry, and a gold mining operation that funnels wealth to regime elites.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has framed the Trump administration’s efforts as an existential campaign against a government he considers a direct threat to American security.
Secretary Rubio <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/06/sanctions-on-cuban-actors-responsible-for-subversive-anti-american-activities-fact-sheet/">announced the designations</a> under a May 1 <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/06/sanctions-on-cuban-military-instrumentalities-other-actors-responsible-for-subversive-anti-american-activities/">executive order,</a> targeting five Cuban entities and five individuals. At the top of the list: Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his wife, Lis Cuesta Peraza, along with their stepson — as well as Alejandro Castro Espín, the son of Raúl Castro and former head of Cuban intelligence, and Castro Espín&#8217;s son. The Castro name is now, once again, directly in Washington&#8217;s crosshairs.
&#8220;The Cuban people are the hostages of a brutal and repressive government,&#8221; Rubio declared. &#8220;Which disregards their safety and prosperity to advance the Castro regime&#8217;s true purpose: serving as an outpost for our adversaries and exporting radical left-wing violence and terror across our hemisphere.&#8221;
The sanctions also hit Cuba&#8217;s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), which controls vast swaths of the Cuban economy through military-owned enterprises. Any entity owned 50% or more by MINFAR — or by the previously designated military holding company GAESA — is considered blocked as well, strangling the military cartel&#8217;s economic empire. Rubio has <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5868122-rubio-us-sanctions-cuba-leadership/">previously called</a> GAESA &#8220;the heart of Cuba&#8217;s kleptocratic communist system.&#8221;
The State Department also sanctioned the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), a Fidel Castro-founded organization that U.S. officials say supports Cuban intelligence operations; the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, Cuba&#8217;s neighborhood surveillance network; and Minera la Victoria, a Cuban-Australian gold mining joint venture whose profits flow directly to the regime.
Foreign banks and companies that continue doing business with any of the designated parties now face their own sanctions exposure — a warning shot aimed squarely at international firms still profiting from the regime.
&#8220;We will continue to take action,&#8221; Rubio had warned on X in early May, &#8220;until the regime takes all necessary political and economic reforms.&#8221;
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Today’s sanctions demonstrate that the Trump Administration will not stand by while Cuba’s communist regime threatens our national security in our hemisphere. We will continue to take action until the regime takes all necessary political and economic reforms.
&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2052456966753026262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump Targets Cuba’s Power Structure In Sweeping Blow To Communist Elites

Donald Trump

Marco Rubio

State Department

A recently resurfaced video clip shows Marxist streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker admitting to scheming with the Cuban government.
A <a href="https://x.com/bear_ing/status/2059257115223728408">viral X post</a>, which has garnered over three million views since Tuesday, shows a clip of Piker&#8217;s appearance on the &#8220;Fear&amp;&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLX6xtQbDRQ">podcast</a> and affirming correspondence with the Cuban government.
“The Cuban government actually hit my contact from the embassy and told them that ‘if the only thing stopping Piker from coming to Cuba was the consistent internet access, we can make it happen.’” Piker stated.
When asked whether the Cuban government reached out to Piker, he clarified, “Not reached out to me. There’s a middleman there.”
Prominent political commentator and Piker&#8217;s rival Asmongold reacted to the resurfaced viral clip <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5pRSUJK-E">saying</a>, “It is the most insane self-report that you could possibly f*cking make.” 
Later in the video posted on YouTube, Asmongold pointed out that the United States re-designated the Cuban government as a &#8220;State Sponsor of Terrorism&#8221; in late January of 2025, and that Piker confirmed he was corresponding with the Cuban government, a public enemy of the U.S. government, in March of 2025.
During his time in Cuba, Hasan filmed a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvqeXFnqXCo">documentary</a> that he posted on his YouTube channel exalting the Cuban government and villainizing the Trump administration.
Recently, Piker was subpoenaed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for his involvement with the Nuestra America Convoy, an international activist flotilla organized by a coalition of Marxist-aligned groups, including Code Pink and the Democratic Socialists of America.
The <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/515.206">Cuban Assets Control Regulations</a> state that the trade of completed informational media is allowed, but “transactions related to information or informational materials not fully created and in existence at the date of the transaction, or to the substantive or artistic alteration or enhancement of information or informational materials,” are prohibited.
Piker&#8217;s confession brings evidence to the claim that he engaged in a transaction with the Cuban government to film the mini-doc and advocate for the regime in exchange for the government providing Wifi and other services. If this claim is proven during Piker&#8217;s subpoena, Hasan could be found guilty of violating the American sanctions.
In response to the resurfaced clip, Piker has attempted to defend himself, <a href="https://x.com/ImperiumFirst/status/2059375474732671037">saying</a>, “As an American citizen, you can literally be in correspondence with individuals in another country. The American restrictions on this stuff are f*cking idiotic. I have a journalism visa. What the f*ck are you talking about? What’s really funny about it is that every single media outlet who goes to Cuba does this as well! CNN, Al-Jazeera, ABC, f*cking Fox News!”
The United States does not directly prohibit contact between individuals and the Cuban government, but it highly regulates services and transactions done with the Cuban government.
Piker has become known for his radical, violent rhetoric, such as saying that &#8220;America <a href="https://x.com/EYakoby/status/2048814928874655931">deserved</a> 9/11,&#8221; and <a href="https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/2048217117221065201">calling on</a> his followers to “let the streets soak in their f*cking red capitalist blood.”
He has also faced backlash over his expensive lifestyle that conflicts with his anti-capitalist teachings. For instance, Piker received pushback from his fans and critics for wearing a $1,000 <a href="http://dexerto.com/entertainment/hasan-responds-to-backlash-over-his-1000-coachella-outfit-1807194/">Gucci shirt</a> at the 2022 Coachella music festival. 
Piker was recently embroiled in a scandal after he allegedly used a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Destiny/comments/1o1mcvg/hasan_shock_collar_model/">powerful shock collar</a> on his dog, berated the pet on camera during one of his streams, and denied the allegations that he ever used a shock collar. This event has become known in internet circles as &#8220;CollarGate.&#8221;

Hasan Piker

FLASHBACK: Hasan Piker Admitted To Colluding With Cuban Regime A Year Before Feds Investigated

Trump Administration

The blackouts keep coming in Havana. For years, the Soviet-era power grid has slowly collapsed under the weight of what Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/05/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-remarks-to-press-9%23:~:text=incompetent%2520communists%2520run%2520that%2520country">calls</a> an “incompetent communist” regime. The Trump administration has upped the ante with escalating economic, diplomatic, and legal moves that target the regime while offering <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/05/the-united-states-is-ready-to-provide-100-million-in-direct-assistance-to-the-cuban-people-if-the-cuban-regime-will-permit-it/">significant support</a> for the Cuban people. If President Donald Trump and Secretary Rubio keep the pressure on, the Castro family’s luck might finally run out.
The ongoing collapse of Cuba began long before the Trump administration turned its attention to the island. When President Barack Obama traveled to Havana and linked arms with Raúl Castro in 2016, he <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/22/remarks-president-obama-people-cuba/%23:~:text=There%25E2%2580%2599s%2520already%2520an,the%2520right%2520decisions.">expressed hope</a> that his decision to normalize relations with the communist regime would bring “generational change.” Castro, who is now a fugitive from U.S. justice, humored Obama, and then used the opening to line the pockets of party elites, not create better lives for Cubans.
Between 2015 and 2020, state investments tied to tourism, including new hotels and resorts, <a href="https://cubastudygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CSG-Report_Without-Power-There-is-No-Country_2026_EN.pdf">increased</a> to nearly 50% of total investment on the island, more than five times the spending on the power grid and water supply. Most of those investments went through Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), a Cuban military business conglomerate that controls most of the economy. As foreign tourism increased, GAESA amassed tens of billions of dollars in profits for the regime while economic conditions continued to deteriorate for the average Cuban.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the island, the regime used the virus as an excuse to <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/cuba/%23:~:text=The%2520government%2520broadened,dissidents%2520to%2520communicate.">confine</a> Cubans to their homes and undertake a campaign of arbitrary arrests. By July 2021, these repressive measures and the regime’s economic failures resulted in the largest <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/cuban-protests-demand-freedom-food-covid-19-vaccines-11626045095">protests</a> in two decades. Tens of thousands of Cubans took to the streets demanding freedom and basic necessities. The regime detained thousands of people, subjecting many to torture and abuse. Since the July 11 protests, <a href="https://en.unav.edu/web/global-affairs/cuba-se-vacia-exodo-de-un-millon-de-personas-que-deja-una-poblacion-envejecida">nearly two million</a> Cubans have fled the island, almost a fifth of the pre-pandemic population.
Even in a hobbled state, the anti-American regime in Havana remains a significant <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/cuba-is-more-than-an-anti-american-symbol-5a7ed79d">national security threat</a> to the United States. Cuban intelligence facilities that once hosted Soviet spies now provide <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-intelligence-footprint-cuba-new-evidence-and-implications-us-security">China</a> and Russia with an unrivaled vantage point to monitor the headquarters of U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Central Command, and U.S. Special Operations Command (all within 400 miles of Havana). Cuba also remains a <a href="https://cu.usembassy.gov/u-s-announces-designation-of-cuba-as-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/">state sponsor of terrorism</a> and has reportedly <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/17/us-military-drones-cuba">acquired</a> attack drones that could reach Florida.
President Trump’s decision to order the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 3 deprived Havana of its most important patron overnight. Since 2000, the socialist regime in Venezuela has <a href="https://mirandacenter.org/cuba/">provided</a> Cuba with $64 billion of oil aid in exchange for Cuban intelligence fully embedding itself into Venezuela’s security apparatus. With Maduro in a New York City jail cell and 32 Cuban officers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cuba-32-bodies-repatriated-us-venezuela-killed-ae6597fff284a2e87a422d968eb765e5">returned</a> to the island in boxes, the Trump administration created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to seek political and economic change in Cuba.
The corrupt ruling clique led by the Castro family now faces its greatest crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union. Shortages of basic necessities and almost continuous blackouts have brought the Cuban people <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cuba-has-run-out-diesel-fuel-oil-amid-us-oil-blockade-minister-says-2026-05-14/">back to the streets</a> and dried up tourism. At 94 years old, Raúl Castro finally faces a U.S. <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-unseals-superseding-indictment-charging-raul-castro-and-five-castro-regime-co">indictment</a> for ordering the murder of four Americans in the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown. And <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/05/u-s-sanctions-target-cubas-military-regime-elites/">new U.S. sanctions</a> on GAESA and senior officials threaten to cut off the flow of hard currency into regime coffers.
Here’s how the Trump administration can make this pressure campaign successful.
First, keep the threat of military operations on the table. President Trump’s willingness to use force in Venezuela and Iran instills fear in the Cuban regime that it could be next. Indicting Castro certainly raises the prospect of a similar fate to Maduro and Manuel Noriega. That fear should be leveraged to obtain concessions on key U.S. priorities, including political change and the presence of adversary intelligence facilities on the island.
Next, permanently cut off the regime’s access to cash. Like its friends in Tehran, Havana has a history of using negotiations and outside aid to buy time and avoid making tough choices. The goal of U.S. economic pressure should be to deny the regime access to foreign revenue and to convince it that this pressure will not be lifted until political and economic change comes to the island.
To achieve this goal, the Trump administration should leverage the president’s May 1 <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/07/2026-09173/imposing-sanctions-on-those-responsible-for-repression-in-cuba-and-for-threats-to-united-states">executive order</a> to threaten and, if necessary, impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions and firms that continue to do business with GAESA and other organs of the regime.
Under communist rule, the Cuban people have suffered for 67 years under a party elite that prioritizes staying in power and aligning with leftist regimes over providing a better future for the island. With President Trump and Secretary Rubio committed to Cuba Libre, the bill for those decisions is finally coming due.
***
<a href="https://www.fddaction.org/team/connor-pfeiffer/">Connor Pfeiffer</a> is senior director of government relations at FDD Action and a former policy advisor in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who focused on Western Hemisphere and international economic issues.

CUBA-POLITICS-SOCIAL-LABOUR-MAY DAY-DEMO

It’s Time For Castro To Clock Out

DW Opinion

Raul Castro

The Justice Department unsealed a federal indictment Wednesday against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, accusing the 94-year-old communist leader of playing a central role in a 1996 attack that left three Americans and one United States resident dead.
Castro, the younger brother of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, faces charges including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and murder, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced in Miami to a cheering crowd. The Trump administration hopes to try Castro on United States soil.
The charges stem from a 1996 incident wherein Cuba shot down two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The organization attempted to search for Cubans fleeing the communist country by boat. Four people were killed in the attack.
&#8220;For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,&#8221; Blanche said.
&#8220;Raul Castro and five codefendants participated in a conspiracy that ended with Cuban military aircraft, firing missiles at those civilian planes and killing four Americans,&#8221; he added. &#8220;My message is clear: The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens.&#8221;
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<a href="https://t.co/zQTF6Gb591">pic.twitter.com/zQTF6Gb591</a>
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/2057095396896207077?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Trump administration&#8217;s latest action is part of a broader pressure campaign against Cuba. Just hours before the announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a video message in Spanish to the Cuban people.
&#8220;The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil &#8216;blockade&#8217; by the United States. As you know better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years,&#8221; Rubio said.
&#8220;The real reason you don&#8217;t have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people,&#8221; he added.
<div id="attachment_1098653" style="width: 234px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1098653" class="wp-image-1098653 size-medium" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-675441982-224x300.jpg" alt="" width="224" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-675441982-224x300.jpg 224w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-675441982-430x576.jpg 430w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-675441982.jpg 764w" sizes=" (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px" />(Photo by ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Rubio also mentioned Castro and the military-run business he founded, GAESA, and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States captured in January.
Cuba&#8217;s energy crisis only worsened after American Special Forces captured Maduro in a midnight raid and brought him to the United States to face multiple charges, including narco-terrorism. Venezuela was once Cuba&#8217;s main oil exporter.
&#8220;Today, while you suffer, these businessmen have $18 billion in assets and control 70% of Cuba&#8217;s economy,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;They profit from hotels, construction, banks, stores and even from the money your relatives send you from the United States.&#8221;
&#8220;Instead of using the money to buy oil, like all other countries in the world, they depended on free oil from Hugo Chávez and Maduro to keep the money. But now that the free oil has stopped coming, they buy fuel for their generators and their vehicles while the people are asked to sacrifice,&#8221; he added.
During Wednesday&#8217;s press conference, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier slammed American politicians who &#8220;looked the other way&#8221; and took aim at former President Barack Obama for attending a 2016 baseball game in Havana alongside Castro.
&#8220;And yet for too long leaders in Washington looked the other way. They sat by idly, they even attended baseball games with the very man that directed the murders,&#8221; he said.
In March, President Donald Trump floated a potential “friendly takeover” of Cuba.
<div>
“It may be a friendly takeover,” Trump said. “They’re really in, they’re down to, uh, as they say, fumes. They have no energy. They have no money. They’re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis.”
Trump weighed in after Wednesday&#8217;s announcement, saying, &#8220;We have Cuba on our mind. This was a very big moment for, not only Cuban Americans, but people who came from Cuba, they want to go back to Cuba, see their family in Cuba.&#8221;
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaryMargOlohan</a>: Should we expect any escalation with Cuba?
TRUMP: “No. There won’t be escalation…The place is falling apart…They’ve really lost control of Cuba.” <a href="https://t.co/urrb5HhLnO">pic.twitter.com/urrb5HhLnO</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2057176285424631817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Commander-in-Chief told Daily Wire&#8217;s Mary Margaret Olohan that &#8220;there won&#8217;t be escalation&#8221; in Cuba.
Castro formally stepped down as Cuba&#8217;s president in 2018 and as head of the Communist Party in 2021, though he is still widely viewed as influential within the communist regime.
</div>

Inside The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit

Raul Castro Just Faced A Reckoning Decades In The Making

Fidel Castro

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a fiery message to the Cuban people Wednesday, accusing the island’s communist leadership of enriching itself while ordinary citizens endure blackouts, food shortages, and repression. 
Rubio delivered the remarks in Spanish on Cuban Independence Day as reports emerged that the Department of Justice is expected to unveil criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over allegations that he ordered a 1996 attack on an aircraft belonging to the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, which left three American citizens dead. 
“The real reason you don&#8217;t have electricity, fuel, or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people,” Rubio said in the video.
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🇺🇸🇨🇺 <a href="https://t.co/nwEePVJ1lX">pic.twitter.com/nwEePVJ1lX</a>
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/2057069290637889876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Rubio alleged that GAESA — a secretive business conglomerate founded by Castro and operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces — now controls roughly 70% of Cuba’s economy and possesses billions in assets while ordinary Cubans struggle through prolonged daily power outages.
The secretary also outlined what he described as President Donald Trump’s vision for “a new Cuba,” promising U.S. aid and expanded economic opportunities if power shifts away from the communist system. 
Rubio said the administration is offering $100 million in food and medicine to the Cuban people, but insisted the aid must bypass the Cuban government and instead be distributed by trusted religious or charitable organizations such as the Catholic Church.
“President Trump is offering a new relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. But it must be directly with you, the Cuban people, not with GAESA,” Rubio said. “A new Cuba where you, the ordinary Cuban, and not just GAESA, can own a gas station or a clothing store, or a restaurant.”
Rubio also argued that Cubans are seeking more than humanitarian assistance, saying they want the same economic opportunities and freedoms enjoyed by relatives living abroad. 
“Today, from media to entertainment, from the private sector to politics, and from music to sports, Cubans have reached the top of virtually ALL industries, in all countries, except one: Cuba,” he said.
According to reports from <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/05/20/raul-castro-indictment-trump-cuba/90167960007/">USA Today</a>, Castro is expected to face murder-related charges connected to allegations that he directed Cuban MiG fighter pilots to shoot down the unarmed civilian planes near Cuban airspace.
An audio recording reportedly captured months after the incident allegedly features a voice identified as Castro discussing the operation.
“I told them [the MiG pilots] to try to knock them down over [Cuban] territory,” the voice allegedly said. “Well, knock them down into the sea when they reappear.”
The 1996 incident remains one of the most controversial confrontations between the United States and Cuba since the Cold War. 
Although Castro formally stepped down from power in 2021, he is still widely viewed as influential within Cuba.
Some observers have speculated that an indictment could significantly escalate tensions between Washington and Havana and potentially open discussions about stronger American action against the Cuban regime. Comparisons have been drawn to the Trump administration’s arrest of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, who was also indicted.
Rubio closed his address by arguing that the only obstacle preventing Cuba from becoming more prosperous and democratic is the current leadership itself.
“In the U.S., we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries,” Rubio said. “And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

Secretary Of State Marco Rubio Meets With Visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty At The State Department

Rubio Outlines Vision For ‘New Cuba’ As Possible Raúl Castro Indictment Looms

January 20, 2009. That was the day Barack Obama was sworn into office as the 44th President of the United States.
When I got home from school, my family was gathered in the living room, and like millions of other homes across the country, our television was turned up to its highest volume. I was defeated, having lost every Facebook argument in defense of John McCain, but in reality, I didn’t care. What could go wrong anyway? We’re in America, for crying out loud — this is the greatest country on earth. We had just elected the first black president in the country’s history, and it seemed to make most of my friends happy.
My grandparents, far smarter than I, watched in anguish. My Abuelo Ernesto was tapping his foot uncontrollably, and my Abuela Norma had one tear lightly streaming down her face. Then she leaned over to me and said something I will never forget: “That sounds exactly like Fidel Castro.”
I thought she was absolutely insane. To me, the comparison was absurd. I assumed their experiences had made them overly sensitive to anything that even remotely resembled the rhetoric they had once heard in La Havana. This was America. America had institutions. America had a Constitution. America had safeguards that made something like Castro’s revolution impossible.
I would eventually realize just how right they were. But to understand why my grandparents reacted the way they did, we need to backtrack.
Both sides of my family escaped Cuba in the 1960s as Castro consolidated power and transformed the island into the Western Hemisphere’s first communist regime. They left before the system fully tightened its grip, but not before they saw the warning signs.
For them, it happened all at once. One day, nearly every newspaper and radio station parroted the same narrative. Russian influence began appearing all over the island — even on television — where the Soviets were suddenly portrayed as heroes rather than adversaries. Oh, and the Americans — their northern neighbors just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, who were, until Castro’s rise, Cuba’s dominant trading partner? Evil, greedy, capitalist pigs.
At school, children were encouraged to report their parents if they owned a gun or spoke critically of the government. Friends and families were torn apart over political differences, private farmland was ripped from their owners, and the universities were completely taken over by Marxism as propaganda ran rampant through the island.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://youtu.be/VDr3CwXJXd8?si=GyWCRmJnKokZF85Q&amp;t=777" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Castro denied</a> that his revolution had anything to do with Marxism. Instead, he warned Cubans that the real threat was capitalism — that the real threat was America.
Obviously, history has proven otherwise.
According to the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/05/07/10-facts-about-cubans-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pew Research Center</a>, a quarter of a million Cubans arrived in the United States in the 1960s following the revolution, with another quarter million arriving in the 1970s. As of 2024, there were 2.9 million people of Cuban origin in the U.S. — 23% more than in 2019, a reality that cuts through any romanticized narrative. People don’t fling themselves on rafts in the middle of the night, leaving their families and lives behind, to escape a purportedly prosperous and egalitarian society.
My Abuela Norma arrived in Miami with just $2 in her pocket and a small box of cigars, leaving her husband and eight-month-old baby on the island. She sold the cigars so she could afford a bus ticket to apply for a job. My Abuelo Ernesto had been an accountant in Cuba. In the United States, he started over by cleaning toilets and bussing tables as a janitor. My Abuelo Hernan escaped to Spain to follow his dreams of becoming a doctor, with Abuela Zoraida by his side, hauling their children and leaving everything behind.
When I heard these stories as a little girl, they were never imparted to me with bitterness — they were told and retold with gratitude. My upbringing in Miami filled me with stories of sacrifice, faith, and resilience. In my house, America was never something to apologize for. It was the country that gave my family the opportunity to rebuild everything they had lost. That perspective stayed with me even after I left Miami.
Many Americans travel to Cuba today and see it as a kind of frozen museum: vintage cars, crumbling buildings, and colorful streets perfect for an Instagram feed. What they often don’t realize is that Cuba once looked very different. Before Castro, it was one of the most advanced societies in Latin America. It was the first country in Latin America to implement a railroad system, broadcast television in color, and have centralized air conditioning in a hotel.
Now, in America, I turn on the news and hear the same slogans that I was raised to fear.
I hear politicians speak about “equity” in ways that sound less like opportunity and more like coercion. I hear capitalism blamed as the root of all injustice, as though the very system that lifted millions out of poverty is something to be dismantled rather than improved. I hear America described not as a force for good, but as something inherently oppressive — something to be apologized for, rewritten, even torn down.
And I think back to my grandparents, sitting on that couch in 2009, recognizing something I could not.
At the time, I dismissed their reaction as fear rooted in trauma. But history has a way of repeating itself — not always in identical form, but in familiar patterns. Revolutions rarely announce themselves as such. They don’t begin with declarations of tyranny. They begin with promises: fairness, justice, equality. They begin by identifying a villain — usually wealth, success, or an entire economic system — and convincing people that their suffering can be traced back to it.
Fidel Castro didn’t seize power by openly declaring, “I will install a communist regime.” He spoke of helping the poor. He spoke of justice. He spoke of dignity.
Today, in cities like New York, we hear voices like Zohran Mamdani echo similar themes — framing capitalism as exploitation, portraying America as fundamentally unjust, and offering sweeping government control as the solution. The language is modernized, the tone more polished, but the underlying premise is strikingly familiar: that the system itself must be torn down in order to achieve fairness. Ideas do not always need a violent revolution to take hold.
There’s a reason why The Daily Wire fights so hard against both big government censorship and the onslaught of Leftist propaganda in our culture. I take great pride in being able to contribute to that fight each day. 
But as Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro recently pointed out in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJb5aEJ8FA0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> at the University of Austin, there’s a reason why young people are taught to see their country primarily through the lens of its flaws — when success is reframed as oppression and economic freedom is recast as evil, the foundations of our country begin to shift.
In Cuba, my grandparents watched as universities became centers of Marxist thought and as dissent became dangerous. It didn’t happen overnight. It happened step by step, justified at every stage by appeals to fairness and progress.
That is why their reaction in 2009 was not irrational — it was informed.
They had seen how language can be used to reframe reality, how patriotism can be turned into suspicion, and how economic systems can be dismantled under the guise of compassion.
And they had lived the consequences.
I’m not saying America is on the brink of becoming Cuba. But no nation is immune to the influence of ideas — especially when those ideas are presented in ways that sound virtuous on the surface.
Socialism does not arrive all at once. It seeps in through rhetoric that reshapes how people think about success, fairness, and their own country. It gains ground when people forget history, or worse, when they are never taught it at all.
In 2009, my grandparents did not have the luxury of ignoring those warning signs. They recognized them because they had lived them.
As I listen to the conversations happening in America today, I find myself hearing the echoes I had once dismissed. And this time, I’m the one sounding the alarm.
***
Savy Dominguez Morris is senior producer of The Ben Shapiro Show.

Untitled design – 2026-05-15T151525.123

My Cuban Grandparents Warned Me It Would Happen To America

Barack Obama

An American intelligence assessment leaked to Axios Sunday claims the communist regime in Cuba is plotting an attack against Guantanamo Bay, American ships, and maybe even Key West, Florida.
The Cuban government has amassed more than 300 drones and has since started discussing using them to attack those sites, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/17/us-military-drones-cuba">Axios reported</a>, citing the intelligence. Axios did not provide any further specifics on the nature of the intelligence or where it came from.
Momentum toward a U.S. military action in Cuba appears to be surging, with the Axios report serving as the latest piece of the puzzle. Thursday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Cuba to warn them against attacking the United States, and told government officials that they must abandon their authoritarian system to receive sanctions relief.
The day before, it was reported the Department of Justice plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-plans-to-drop-the-hammer-on-former-cuban-president-as-trump-pressures-communist-nation?author=Brecca+Stoll&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DOJ+Plans+To+Drop+The+Hammer+On+Former+Cuban+President+As+Trump+Pressures+Communist+Nation">unseal an indictment</a> against Cuban leader Raúl Castro for his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two humanitarian planes from Miami. The legal tactic mirrors that which was used against deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, who the U.S. captured in January after indicting him for his role in narcotics trafficking.
U.S. officials say Cuba has been amassing drones for several years from Russia and Iran, with an increased number coming from Russia in the last month. An estimated 5,000 Cuban soldiers have fought for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, with the Russian government paying Cuba a reported $25,000 per soldier. An official told Axios that the U.S. had intercepted communications that indicate the Cubans are trying to learn from Iran&#8217;s tactics in their ongoing war with the United States.
&#8220;When we think about those types of technologies being that close, and a range of bad actors from terror groups to drug cartels to Iranians to the Russians, it&#8217;s concerning,&#8221; a U.S. official told Axios.

Cuba Celebrates 65th Anniversary Of Fidel Castro’s Attack On The Moncada Barracks

US Intel Claims Cuba Is Plotting Attack Against American Homeland

Military

The Department of Justice plans to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba, as tensions escalate between the United States and the communist country.
The indictment is expected to charge Castro over a 1996 incident when Cuba shot down American-operated humanitarian planes, sources <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-moving-to-indict-cubas-raul-castro-officials-say/">told</a> CBS News. Castro, the brother of the late Cuban communist revolutionary Fidel Castro, stepped down as the leader of Cuba in 2021, but he remains one of the most powerful figures in the country.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment. 
In February 1996, two small planes operated by Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue, were shot down by a Cuban fighter jet. The planes, which carried four people searching for Cubans attempting to flee the communist country, were reportedly shot down outside of Cuban airspace. Four people were killed.
On Thursday, the CIA also released images of Director John Ratcliffe during what appear to be face-to-face negotiations with leadership in Havana on Thursday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Havana, Cuba <a href="https://t.co/7S7TtJPyf5">pic.twitter.com/7S7TtJPyf5</a>
— CIA (@CIA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CIA/status/2055074954375254084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
The Trump administration is pressuring Cuba as the communist nation experiences energy shortages after oil shipments were cut off from Venezuela. Cuba&#8217;s already bleak energy crisis worsened after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January and took control of Venezuelan oil sales. Venezuela, which shipped oil to American adversaries around the globe, had previously been Cuba&#8217;s main oil exporter.  
Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in a midnight raid on his compound after he was hit with multiple charges in the United States, including narco-terrorism.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Raúl Castro earlier this month that President Trump is &#8220;prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes.” President Trump argues that Cuba has developed close relationships with United States adversaries including China, Russia, and Iran. Trump also says that Cuba has provide refuge for American enemies, creating a national security risk. 
Trump has publicly floated regime change and other aggressive actions toward Cuba. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51-prisoners-to-be-freed-as-cuba-shows-cracks-under-trump-pressure">In March</a>, he suggested the United States could pursue what he described as a “friendly takeover.”
“It may be a friendly takeover,” Trump said. “They’re really in, they’re down to, uh, as they say, fumes. They have no energy. They have no money. They’re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis.”

CUBA-POLITICS-ANNIVERSARY

DOJ Plans To Drop The Hammer On Former Cuban President As Trump Pressures Communist Nation

U.S.

Independent journalist Nick Shirley recently traveled to Cuba, where he looked into the ongoing food and energy crisis on the island and asked residents about living under a communist regime.
Shirley, who gained nationwide recognition for his reporting on suspected fraud schemes in Minneapolis, was in Cuba for 24 hours earlier this month as the country faces an oil shortage and mounting pressure from the Trump administration.
In one interview, Shirley asked a Cuban man to share his opinion on communism.
&#8220;The worst thing to exist in life!&#8221; he said. &#8220;The worst thing to exist in life is communism because, in reality, none of them are communist. They get rich and exploit the people.&#8221;
He argued that the equality promised under communism &#8220;doesn&#8217;t exist.&#8221;
&#8220;They are the ones with everything,&#8221; he added, referring to Cuba&#8217;s communist leaders. &#8220;They have electricity, they have the nicest cars, they have oil, they have gas, they have everything. And the people have nothing. And the majority of the companies are theirs.&#8221;
The oil shortage has forced Cuba into island-wide blackouts, disrupting essential services, including hospitals and public transportation. Many Cubans are also forced to wait in long lines for food handed out by the government, which is typically imported.
&#8220;How can you live off a ration book that gets you three pounds of sugar and one pound of salt?&#8221; the Cuban man told Shirley. &#8220;Each year, they give you a chicken and eggs. Eggs haven&#8217;t arrived in a year. It&#8217;s been a year since I had an egg.&#8221;
Asked why some people in Cuba continue to defend the country&#8217;s communist system and government, the man replied, &#8220;The only ones who defend communism are with the Castro family, or someone who&#8217;s afraid of them, or someone who lives off the government — who gets rich from the dictatorship.&#8221;
He then urged Americans to reject socialism and communism.
&#8220;The worst thing that can happen in life is socialism and communism because it&#8217;s the great lie,&#8221; the Cuban man said. &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t exist. It just leads you to misery, harassment, hunger, and anguish.&#8221;
&#8220;Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, I am waiting for you guys, please, to see if we can live like people, to live like a human being,&#8221; he added.
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This is the truth about communism from someone living in communism: 
&#8211; Regime leaders get rich and exploit the people 
&#8211; No food (hasn&#8217;t had eggs in a year) 
&#8211; No freedom of speech 
&#8211; No equality
&#8220;It just leads you to misery, harassment, hunger and anguish&#8221; &#8211; Man living in communism <a href="https://t.co/qSa4ref68U">pic.twitter.com/qSa4ref68U</a>
— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickshirleyy/status/2053995650518601906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Shirley later claimed he was tracked by undercover government agents and a Cuban general while in Havana and said he had to plan his own escape from the country &#8220;to avoid being taken hostage.&#8221;
Cuba&#8217;s already bleak energy crisis worsened following the January capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces. After the capture of Maduro, the United States took control of Venezuelan oil sales and imposed a blockade around Cuba. Previously, Venezuela was Cuba&#8217;s main oil supplier.
President Donald Trump has sought to force Cuba&#8217;s communist regime to the negotiating table as it tries to hold onto power. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Cuban regime poses a national security threat to the United States. Cuba has been accused by American officials of aiding adversarial governments and maintaining close ties with regimes in China and Venezuela.

‘Worst Thing To Exist’: Cuban Man Blasts Communism On Streets Of Havana

Communism

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth publicly declared Tuesday that the Cuban regime poses a national security threat to the United States. The striking statement came during a House budget hearing as tensions between Washington and Havana continue to rise.
During a hearing on the administration’s proposed 2027 defense budget, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) pressed Hegseth on Cuba’s ties to hostile foreign powers and its long history of antagonism toward the United States.
“Considering all those issues and others that we could talk about in a classified setting, do you believe that the Cuban regime possesses a national security threat to the United States?” Díaz-Balart asked.
“I do,” Hegseth responded.
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Before that exchange, Díaz-Balart laid out a series of accusations against the communist government, asking Hegseth to confirm each one in turn. “Is it true that the Cuban regime actually shot down two American airplanes in international airspace, murdering Americans?” the Florida congressman asked, referencing the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue incident.
“I don’t — I can’t recall the precise year, but I believe that is the case,” Hegseth replied.
Díaz-Balart then turned to Cuba’s growing relationships with America’s geopolitical rivals.
“Is it true that Russian spy ships and warships, including the nuclear sub Kazan, have repeatedly used Cuban ports?”
“That is true, Congressman,” Hegseth said.
The congressman also referenced renewed concern over the Russian signals intelligence site at Lourdes and alleged Chinese intelligence activity on the island.
“And is it also true that now the Chinese also are there?” Díaz-Balart asked.
“I wouldn’t want to reveal anything that should be classified, but we don’t want foreign adversaries attempting to use that island,” Hegseth answered.
The exchange comes as the Trump administration has sharply increased pressure on communist governments in the Western Hemisphere during his second term, leading to the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Cuba has long been accused by U.S. officials of <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/how-cuba-propped-up-maduro">propping up Caracas</a> through intelligence support and military advisers, and Hegseth acknowledged that role during the hearing.
“I am well aware that Cubans have been around the globe to include attempting to defend Maduro in Venezuela,” Hegseth said. “That is something they’ve done for a long time.”
While the Pentagon has announced no direct military action against Cuba, Hegseth’s remarks are among the clearest public acknowledgments yet that the administration views the island’s regime not merely as a hostile government, but as an active strategic threat close to American shores.

Hegseth Confirmation Hearing TW

Hegseth Says Cuba Poses A National Security Threat As Tensions Rise

The FBI returned a 10-year-old Utah boy to his mother after he was kidnapped and taken to Cuba by his transgender-identifying father and his family feared the child would undergo transgender procedures, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. 
Authorities charged 42-year-old Inessa-Ethington, who goes by &#8220;Rose,&#8221; and 32-year-old &#8220;Blue&#8221; Inessa-Ethington with international parental kidnapping after the gender-confused boy was taken to Cuba. The boy has since been safely returned to his mother.
The child, a boy who identifies as a girl, split time with his divorced parents, who share custody in Cache County, Utah. The boy was supposed to go on a camping trip to Canada with his father — a man who identifies as a woman — and his partner, Blue, but instead ended up in Cuba, according to court documents. 
Family members told authorities they feared the boy&#8217;s father, Rose, intended to force his son to undergo transgender surgery abroad against the mother&#8217;s wishes. They feared the boy &#8220;was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty,” according to a criminal complaint. 
The two kidnappers were <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/utah-10-year-old-reunited-biological-mother-after-transgender-parent-and-partner">deported</a> from Cuba on Monday, and the child was returned home safe to Utah. 
FBI Director Kash Patel told The Daily Wire the rescue was another example of the bureau protecting children. 
“Each and every day this FBI is stepping up to protect kids in America at levels never seen before — identifying and rescuing 6200 child victims just last year alone,” he said. “This case is no different. We are proud of our agents, Intel analysts, and partners who acted quickly and saved a young child from what could have been a horrific kidnapping. Let it be a message to any criminal actor who would try the same — this FBI will find you, no matter where you try to hide.”
Court documents say the group left Utah on March 28, 2026, telling the boy&#8217;s mother they were heading to Alberta, Canada.  The child later called and said they had arrived, but the group could not be reached afterward. 
On March 29, the group crossed into British Columbia at the Douglas Port of Entry, then flew to Mexico the same day before arriving in Havana, Cuba, on April 1, 2026, according to investigators. 
A search of the pair’s residence found a to-do list that included “learn Spanish,” along with travel plans, an intent to withdraw $10,000 in cash, and indications they planned to empty a bank account, according to the FBI. 
“Recovered notes include instruction from a mental health therapist located in Washington D.C. including instruction to send the therapist the $10,000.00 and instructions on gender affirming medical care for children,” the criminal complaint says. 
On April 13, a Utah judge granted the boy&#8217;s mother full custody of the boy and ordered him returned to her. Rose and Blue were located by Cuban authorities on April 16, according to the Justice Department. 
Lawyers for the defendants have not been identified. They appeared in court for an arraignment in Virginia and will be transferred to Utah for further proceedings.

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