Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the US on Sunday of fabricating a "fraudulent case" to justify economic sanctions and potential military intervention.

The minister's comments followed a report by Axios on Sunday, citing classified intelligence, which said that Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones.

"Cuba neither threatens nor desires war," Rodriguez said in a post on social media, adding that the country "prepares itself to confront external aggression in the exercise of the right to legitimate self-defence recognised by the UN Charter."

The report alleged that Havana had discussed plans to use them to attack the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, US military vessels and Key West, Florida.

Rodriguez did not explicitly mention the drone allegations in his statement.

The intelligence – which could become a pretext for US military action – shows the degree to which the Trump administration sees Cuba as a threat because of developments in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisers in Havana, a senior US official told the publication.

"When we think about those types of technologies being that close, and a range of bad actors from terror groups to drug cartels to Iranians to the Russians, it's concerning," the unnamed official was quoted as saying. "It's a growing threat."

Cuba has been acquiring attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and is seeking to buy more, US officials told Axios.

The report comes days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana, where Cubans have been enduring constant power outages prompted by US President Donald Trump's fuel blockade.

According to Axios, Ratcliffe warned officials in Havana against engaging in hostilities.

"Director Ratcliffe made clear that Cuba can no longer serve as a platform for adversaries to advance hostile agendas in our hemisphere," Axios quoted an unnamed CIA official as saying.

The communist island has been in a standoff with successive US administrations since the 1960s, and the southern state of Florida hosts a large, politically influential Cuban exile community.

Earlier this month Trump said the United States would be "taking over" the Caribbean island "almost immediately."

He has also said, following the US military operation to depose Venezuela's longtime leader Nicolas Maduro, that Cuba will be next. (Agencies)



Edited by Cecil Wong