Ben Hyorns

Exactly.

The US used similar charges against Maduro to justify that operation, which it framed as a law enforcement operation.

And this would potentially suggest any operation of the US in Cuba would be focused on capturing or killing Raul Castro.

A couple more recent developments.

The US officials have shared intelligence with journalists about activities in Cuba to do with Cuba acquiring drones from Russia and Iran, about 300 military drones.

The US officials claim that the Cuban government has hidden them across the island and discussed plans of how to retaliate against the US in the event of an attack.

And the other is that US officials have claimed that Russia and China have tripled the number of intelligence personnel at electronic eavesdropping facilities in Cuba since 2023, which the US considers a threat as well.

And then also another key development is that the rhetoric from US officials has changed.

Marco Rubio has particularly been at the forefront of this.

He released a video criticizing the regime, calling for change.

And the visit of the CIA director to Havana was key.

The U.S.

seems to be more direct in its threats towards Cuba now, warning that military action is a possibility if they do not reach a deal.

Yeah, it would not necessarily be obvious that the US has abandoned diplomacy and decided to take military action.

The first is US rhetoric towards Cuba.

Based on what happened with Venezuela and Iran, the Trump administration wants to use the element of surprise in terms of a specific operation, but it does not necessarily want to conceal its willingness to use military action.

It's a negotiating tactic to intimidate.

So more explicit warnings, accusations about Russian and Chinese influence on the island, Cuba's drone capabilities, even historical grievances related to the Cuban revolution.

That's something we saw with Venezuela talking about oil.

And then more obvious ones, the U.S.