Cuba Strengthens Defences With Russian Drones as U.S. Plans Invasion

The Cuban Defence Ministry has procured more than 300 new unmanned aircraft from Russia and Iran, according to U.S. intelligence, as the small island country faces the threat of a U.S. military assault on its territory. Intelligence sources have reported that the Cuban Armed Forces have begun considering plans for attacks on the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, American warships, and the city of Key West in southern Florida which is located approximately 160 kilometres from Cuban territory, placing it within range of multiple types of assets. The announcement of these preparations was made as the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs has pledged to fight against the U.S. in the event of a conflict. Cuba has faced intense military and economic pressure from the United States since the overthrow of its U.S.-aligned government in 1953. 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has accused the U.S. of fabricating a "fraudulent case" of drone attack plans to justify economic sanctions and a potential U.S. invasion. He stressed that the Caribbean country “prepares itself to confront external aggression in the exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense recognized by the UN Charter,” but had no aggressive intentions. Low cost single use attack drones produced in Russia and Iran have proven highly effective in the Ukrainian and Middle Eastern theatres, and could provide Cuban forces with a means of asymmetrically countering U.S. threats. Cuba’s close proximity to the continental United States allows its forces to threaten critical infrastructure and military facilities using relatively short ranged low cost assets. There has previously been considerable speculation that the country could procure advanced rocket artillery systems, such as the North Korean KN-25, to be able to strike targets in Florida from mobile launch vehicles, providing a degree of deterrence against U.S. attacks. 

In early January Cuban government sources confirmed that 32 Cuban Armed Forces personnel were killed in action when engaged by U.S. forces in Venezuela on January 3. This followed confirmation from Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Lopez that most of President Nicholas Maduro's security detail was killed during the operation by U.S. Army Delta Force special forces to abduct him. Acknowledging the death toll among Cuban personnel, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4: “a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.” Cuba has a long history of deploying forces abroad to support Western Bloc adversaries, including to participate in the 1973 Yom Kippur War on the side of Syria, and to support socialist Angolan forces during clashes with South Africa including operating MiG-23 fighters and local air defence systems.