The U.S. military is not preparing for an invasion of Cuba nor is it actively preparing to militarily take over the island, the top general overseeing U.S. forces in Latin America told lawmakers on Thursday.
But the US is ready to address any threat to the US embassy, defend its base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and assist the US government's efforts to address any mass migration from the island, if necessary, said General Francis Donovan, head of US Southern Command.
Donovan's remarks came during a Senate hearing focused on President Donald Trump's increasingly muscular use of the US military in Latin America, where his administration has reaffirmed the idea that the region falls within Washington's sphere of influence, the Telegraph reports.
Trump has launched military strikes on suspected drug ships and is expanding anti-narcotics alliances with pro-Washington governments in Latin America, even conducting joint operations with Ecuador on the ground there earlier this month.
In January, US special forces captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on his compound in Caracas and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
Donovan, who was No. 2 at Special Operations Command at the time of the capture, made a surprise visit to Venezuela for security talks last month, shortly after taking over as Latin America chief.
Trump said Monday he expected to take over Cuba "somehow" and that "I can do whatever I want" with the neighboring country, which is located about 180 miles south of Key West, Florida. But so far, U.S. efforts appear to be aimed at creating economic influence over the island.
Trump has exerted tremendous economic pressure on Cuba by banning all shipments of Venezuelan oil to the island, which has been forced to carry out severe energy rationing.
Much of its economy has ground to a halt. On Monday, Cuba's electrical grid collapsed, leaving the country of 10 million people without electricity.
Asked if the US was conducting any military tests involving invading, occupying or establishing control over Cuba, Donovan said: "US Southern Command is not."
He was then asked if he knew of any US military command doing this, and Donovan replied, "No."
Questions about the US's next steps come as Cuba and the United States have opened talks aimed at improving their largely unfavourable relationship, which has reached one of the most contentious points in the 67 years since Fidel Castro overthrew what had been a close US ally.
At the hearing, Donovan noted that Guantanamo Bay had suffered storm damage and needed new investment, along with other places in the Caribbean that U.S. officials have long said have suffered from a lack of investment over the past two decades, when the U.S. military's focus was on fighting militant groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
"I'm not going to give any criticism, it's in bad shape. Because of the hurricane damage, we only have one functioning pier and one refueling pier left. I believe (the base) is a key point for any operation in the Caribbean," Donovan said of Guantanamo Bay.
Donovan said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. Coast Guard, would be in charge of any mass migration from Cuba, which experts have long warned could follow a fall of the communist government in Havana. But he left open the possibility of setting up a camp at Guantanamo Bay for any influx of migrants.
Asked what US forces were prepared to do if there was a security threat to Americans in Cuba, Donovan replied: "If this were to develop into a physical security threat to the US embassy or the base at Gitmo, we would deploy US troops to protect American lives." /Telegraph
