Pete Hegseth Says U.S. Is Prepared for Any “Contingency” Involving Cuba

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Wednesday the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, where he performed bench presses in front of cameras and told U.S. troops the Pentagon would remain "prepared and postured for any possible contingency" involving the island. He also warned that if Cuba were to acquire weapons capable of threatening the Guantánamo base or the U.S. mainland, it would invite a confrontation that Cuba "could not stand."

“We are taking back our hemisphere,” Hegseth said in a rambling speech in which he attempted to explain the origins of the “Donroe Doctrine” and claimed Guantánamo was “American terrain.”

The U.S. has occupied the Guantánamo base since 1903 under a lease agreement that has no expiration date and that the Cuban government considers illegal.

Hegseth made clear that the administration’s disregard for Cuban sovereignty extends beyond Guantánamo.

"What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of the president of the United States and the leadership of Cuba," he said.