U.S. Military Planning Around Cuba Raises Questions About Washington’s Next Move

The Army Reserve is assessing forces that could support Southern Command within months, as President Trump intensifies pressure on Havana. No military operation has been ordered.

WASHINGTON — The United States military is taking additional steps to prepare for the possibility of action involving Cuba, according to new reporting, as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign of economic and political pressure against the Communist government just 90 miles from Florida.

An internal Army message reviewed by CBS News shows that the Army Reserve is assessing whether it could provide U.S. Southern Command with military police, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months.

The document itself does not mention Cuba. But multiple American officials told CBS News that the request is connected to continuing military planning involving the island. (⁠CBS News)

There is, however, a crucial distinction between preparing military options and deciding to use them.

There is no public indication that President Trump has ordered an attack on Cuba, and officials familiar with earlier Pentagon discussions have similarly cautioned that contingency planning should not be interpreted as evidence that an operation has been approved. (⁠CBS News)

Still, the latest development adds to a series of signals that Washington is giving considerably greater attention to military scenarios involving Cuba.

Months of Planning

Senior Pentagon officials had already examined possible military options involving the island earlier this summer, CBS News reported in July.

Those discussions included an Army-led air assault that could involve thousands of American soldiers, according to officials cited by the network. The officials stressed at the time that the discussions did not mean an operation had been authorized. (⁠CBS News)

U.S. intelligence agencies have also analyzed how Cuba could respond to American military action, including the potential chain of events following an attack, CBS News reported in May. (⁠CBS News)

The latest Army Reserve assessment appears to move a different part of that planning into focus: the personnel who could be needed to support a larger operation.

According to CBS News, Army Reserve headquarters asked subordinate commands to determine the availability of several types of units that could potentially support Southern Command.

That does not establish what those forces would ultimately be asked to do — or whether they will be deployed at all.