US Spy Flights Surge On Cuba, Mimicking Pre-Venezuela Action

Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via AP

More than twenty U.S. intelligence gathering flights have been reportedly conducted near the Cuban coast since February, mirroring President Donald Trump’s pattern of buildup before military action in Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft and drones have surged near Cuba since early February, according to an analysis from CNN on Sunday.

At least twenty five flights were conducted, most near Havana and Santiago de Cuba. P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, used for surveillance, RC-135V Rivet Joint, used to collect signal intelligence, and MQ-4C Triton high-altitude reconnaissance drones have all traveled to areas close to the island, per the report. And Some flights have gotten within forty miles of the country, according to FlightRadar24.

“The flights are notable not only for their proximity to the coast, which puts them well within range of gathering intelligence, but for the suddenness of their appearance – prior to February, such publicly visible flights were exceedingly rare in this area – and for their timing,” the CNN report reads.

Trump has floated a U.S. “takeover” of Cuba for months, claiming that the country’s communist government was “ready to fall” days after the capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. Days later, Trump instituted an oil blockade on the country, which in March caused Cuba’s electrical grid to collapse due to dwindling fuel.

“Whether I free it, take it. I think I can do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. “They are a very weakened nation.”

A similar type of visible surveillance flight began near the Venezuelan coast before the Maduro operation, as did flights and drones around Iran before the war began. The three aircraft and drones seen over Cuba were also part of the U.S. operation in Iran once the conflict started.

The CNN report noted these aircraft appear to be visible intentionally, as all possess the ability to block their location from being tracked.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio hammered Cuba’s leadership at a press conference on Tuesday, calling them “incompetent communists” and ridiculing their economic policies. The secretary announced new sanctions on the country on Thursday, writing in a press release that the country was a “pressing national security threat.”

“These sanctions are part of the Trump Administration’s comprehensive campaign to address the pressing national security threats posed by Cuba’s communist regime and hold accountable the regime and those who provide it material or financial support,” read the release. “Just 90 miles from the American homeland, the Cuban regime has brought the island to ruin and auctioned off the island as a platform for foreign intelligence, military and terror operations. Additional designations can be expected in the following days and weeks.”

Earlier this month, Trump claimed that the U.S. will be taking over Cuba “almost immediately,” but he wanted to “finish” the Iran “job” first.

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