CBS: The U.S. senior defense officials looking at Cuba military options

As the U.S.-Iran war restarts following the collapse of the weeks-long ceasefire, senior Pentagon officials are also quietly eyeing another flashpoint much closer to home: Cuba.

Military planners have in recent weeks examined a range of options for possible action against the island, including an Army-led air assault involving thousands of U.S. soldiers to be carried out by the 101st Airborne Division, the only unit trained for such a task, according to multiple U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions.

The officials, who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters, stressed that the briefings are not an indication that President Trump or the Pentagon have decided to carry out an operation.

Any operation against Cuba would confront the Pentagon with a significant problem because much of the U.S. military's attention and some of its most valuable offensive capabilities are already committed elsewhere. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has emphasized that the U.S. prefers a diplomatic option for a transition to a new government led by technocrats and willing to make economic reforms.

The State Department announced that it has also tightened the financial vice around Cuba's state-owned entities that "funnel revenue to the regime and paramilitary forces" that repress the Cuban people, including rapid response brigades.

The Pentagon has shifted aircraft, intelligence assets and other resources from other geographical regions to the Middle East to sustain operations against Iran. Officials who spoke to CBS News said that shifting the focus toward Cuba isn't likely at the moment, given the restart of military operations against Iran last week.

Cuba has presented new security challenges. CBS News previously reported that Cuba had acquired attack drones of unknown origin. During a June 10 visit to the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Hegseth indirectly acknowledged the possibility of a threat to that installation.

CBS News reported in May that U.S. intelligence officials have been assessing how Cuba would respond to possible U.S. military action, as the Trump administration accused Havana of strengthening ties with Russia, China and Iran. The intelligence community's 2026 annual threat assessment largely portrays Cuba as an enabling environment for larger geopolitical competitors, rather than as an independent strategic threat. Notably, the March assessment doesn't identify Cuba itself as possessing military capabilities that materially threaten the U.S. or describe Havana as an independent driver of instability.

In May, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for a rare meeting with senior Cuban officials, using the visit to deliver a message that the U.S. was prepared to expand economic and security engagement with Cuba if Havana "makes fundamental changes."

The administration's confrontation with Cuba did not emerge overnight. Over the past 18 months, the White House has steadily dismantled the limited engagement pursued under former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama and replaced it with a campaign of economic, diplomatic and legal pressure that has isolated Havana and deprived its security apparatus of revenue in an effort to force political change.

Despite rising tensions, limited cooperation continued, including Cuba's acceptance of U.S. deportation flights under existing migration agreements. By mid-2025, the Trump administration formalized its approach through a new National Security Presidential Memorandum that expanded restrictions on travel, remittances and financial transactions, while strengthening enforcement of the embargo.

The campaign escalated further earlier this year when Mr. Trump declared Cuba an "unusual and extraordinary threat" and extended sanctions to foreign governments and companies supplying the island with oil. Additional actions included sanctions on senior Cuban officials, and penalties targeting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other top figures.

These measures coincided with a worsening economic crisis in Cuba, marked by fuel shortages, blackouts and protests. Cuban officials blamed U.S. sanctions, while the Trump administration pointed to internal mismanagement.

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