Reuters: US general meets Cuban military officials at edge of Guantanamo Bay
The rare contact followed recent U.S.-Cuba talks and came as Washington increases sanctions and military pressure on Havana, officials said.
- On Friday, U.S. General Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, met Cuban General Roberto Legra Sotolongo at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay's perimeter to discuss operational security and force protection.
- The talks followed a rare visit to Havana by CIA Director John Ratcliffe earlier in May and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's warnings about Cuba's security risk just 90 miles from Florida.
- Washington has maintained assertive regional pressure by charging former President Raul Castro with murder for a 1996 aircraft downing and capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a January 3 operation.
- Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez warned that any military action "would lead to a bloodbath" with thousands of Cubans and Americans dying, underscoring escalation risks amid U.S. pressure.
- Decades of antagonism since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution complicate diplomacy, with President Donald Trump signaling Cuba may become his administration's focus once the war with Iran concludes.
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The commander of the Southern Command of the United States (SOUTHCOM), General Francis L. Donovan, held an unprecedented face-to-face with Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, first deputy minister of the Chief of General Staff of Cuba, on the perimeter of the Naval Station of Guantánamo Bay.The unique high-level meeting took place during an inspection visit by the United States official to the base, in a context marked by bilateral tensions arising from th…
It is a very unusual meeting. After prolonged tensions, US and Cuban generals speak directly to each other at Guantánamo.
The two sides discussed operational security issues, despite the ongoing tension in bilateral relations.
Top US and Cuban military officers meet at Guantanamo Bay
At Guantanamo Bay, the US base located in southeastern Cuba that is notorious for serving as a site where terror suspects were tortured in the years following 9/11, senior US and Cuban military officers had a brief exchange on 'operational security matters' on Friday.
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