Episode Details

With Iran peace talks deadlocked, US military attention appears to be turning to another longtime enemy: Cuba. 

This week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Cuba a threat to US security. Indictments have been issued against its elderly former president Raúl Castro. Claims about a Cuban drone stockpile aimed at the US have been leaked to the press. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier has been deployed to the Caribbean. A blockade has been in place for months, leading to mass blackouts. 

Carlos Solar, RUSI’s senior research fellow for Latin American security, joins Roland Oliphant to examine whether the United States is creating a pretext for an attack on Cuba. They discuss why things are escalating in the Caribbean and what an attack on the country might look like. Plus, how it is all connected to the war in Iran. 

Highlights

• First Venezuela, then Iran. Is Cuba next on Trump’s hit list?
• How the Iran war is pushing Cuba’s regime over the edge

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Carlos Solar, RUSI Latin American Security senior fellow @CSolar

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Trump: deploying aircraft carrier to Caribbean is not meant to intimidate Cuba

Rubio: Cuba is a national security threat

Cuba is dark, desperate and still deluded

Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

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