The United States Army has begun preliminary staff work that could support a future operation involving Cuba, according to an exclusive report published on Friday by CBS News. The network said it obtained an internal Army message and interviewed several US officials familiar with the planning.
According to the document, the Army Reserve is examining whether it can furnish US Southern Command with military police personnel, medical teams and other enabling units within a window of 90 to 120 days. Southern Command oversees US military activity across Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
The internal message does not explicitly name Cuba. However, several officials told CBS News, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the request forms part of broader military planning the United States is conducting in relation to the island. No unit has been ordered to deploy, and the document does not specify a destination or the nature of any operation.
What the Army is asking for
CBS News reported that the message seeks information on the availability of six categories of units that could be placed under Southern Command's authority. These include logistics, transport, maintenance, fuel and supply formations, as well as an engineer battalion.
The request also covers a medical brigade, teams capable of providing emergency surgery and treatment for wounded troops near deployed forces, and a military police brigade — a type of unit typically used for security, detention and other policing tasks.
A Southern Command spokesman declined to discuss possible movements or deployment timelines, citing operational security. The command, the spokesman said, continually assesses military requirements within its area of responsibility.
Political backdrop
The report follows months of escalating rhetoric from US President Donald Trump. This week, in an address to the UN General Assembly, Trump described Cuba as "a failed state" and said it "will fall."
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told NBC News on Friday that Washington "will never be able to find justification" for a military attack on Cuba, and rejected the suggestion that the island would share Venezuela's fate.
The Caribbean has already seen an uptick in US military activity. Earlier this year, a US strike on a suspected drug boat killed four people, underscoring how quickly tensions can escalate in the region. Washington has also redirected $52m in military aid from Europe and the Middle East toward the Americas, a shift that has unsettled some NATO partners.
For European governments, the implications are twofold. First, any US military diversion toward the Caribbean risks drawing attention and resources away from the transatlantic theatre at a moment when Russia's war in Ukraine continues and NATO's eastern flank remains tense — as illustrated by Belarusian drills near the Suwałki Gap. Second, a US operation in Cuba would raise awkward questions for EU member states with deep historical and economic ties to Havana, including Spain, France and the Netherlands, which have long opposed unilateral coercive measures against the island.
The European Union has for years maintained a delicate balance with Cuba through its 2016 political dialogue and cooperation agreement, signed by all 27 member states. A US military intervention — or even the credible threat of one — would put that framework under strain and force Brussels to choose between transatlantic solidarity and its own diplomatic architecture.
For now, the Army's request is a planning exercise, not an order. But the fact that it exists at all signals that Washington is keeping options open. European capitals will be watching closely, not least because the last thing they need is a second front opening while they are still managing the first.
