WASHINGTON: The top US general overseeing for­ces in Latin America held a rare meeting on Friday with senior Cuban military officials at the perimeter of US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the US military said.

US General Francis Donovan, head of US Southern Command, briefly discussed operational security matters with the Cuban delegation, which included Cuban General Roberto Legra Sotolongo, first deputy minister of the chief of the General Staff, US Southern Command said on X.

“Donovan also led a perimeter security assessment of the naval base and discussed force protection, safety of service members and their families, and operational readiness with base officials,” it said.

Donovan’s meeting in Cuba is the first in recent memory by a head of Southern Command and comes amid growing concerns in Cuba of a possible US military attack on the Communist-run island. Cuba’s armed forces said on Facebook that the meeting took place with mutual agreement and that both sides agreed to maintain communication.

“Both delegations evaluate positively the meeting where issues related to security around the dividing perimeter of the military enclave were addressed and agreed to maintain communication between both military commands,” the statement said.

The meeting follows a rare visit earlier in May by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana. President Donald Trump has often cited Cuba among the foreign policy goals of his second term and has hinted it will become his focus once the war with Iran is over.

US antagonist

Cuba has been a US antagonist for decades, since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

Trump is strongly supported by hardline Cuban Americans in Florida, who have pushed for US-instigated regime change for decades, and his administration has been steadily ramping up pressure on the island.

On May 20, the US formally charged former President Raul Castro with four counts of murder for the 1996 downing of civilian aircraft operated by Miami-based exiles.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026