SOUTH KOREA PERSPECTIVE

Seoul, May 19, 2026. The Korea Times reports on the escalation between Cuba and the US, highlighting the military dimension: according to US intelligence officials cited by Axios, Havana has acquired over 300 combat drones from Russia and Iran, and is considering deploying them against the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US warships, or even Florida.

In response to these revelations, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel published on X on Monday that Cuba 'poses no threat' to the US, while warning that a US attack 'would trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences.' Cuban Ambassador to the UN, Ernesto Soberon Guzman, echoed this sentiment: 'If someone tried to invade Cuba, Cuba would retaliate, without a doubt. In the 60s, they tried to invade us and were defeated.'

Meanwhile, Washington has hardened its stance by announcing sanctions against Cuba's main intelligence agency and nine Cuban nationals, including three generals and several ministers. These measures add to a series of accumulated pressures since January, from the halt of Venezuelan oil deliveries to the island to Donald Trump's declarations on the potential overthrow of the Cuban government, mirroring what Washington did in Venezuela that same month.

The oil blockade has exacerbated a severe humanitarian and energy crisis in Cuba, marked by increasingly frequent power outages. Havana claims to be short of diesel and fuel to power its generators. The Cuban government accuses Washington of trying to create a pretext for a military intervention, after attempting to 'strangle' its economy. On Monday, May 19, Cuba received its fifth humanitarian aid shipment from Mexico, this time transported by a Panamanian-flagged merchant vessel carrying 1,700 tons of goods, including powdered milk and legumes for children and the elderly.

The visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana, which occurred just days before the Axios report on the drones, and reports of attempts to indict Raúl Castro, 94, fuel speculation about a planned US strategy of destabilization. The South Korean media reports these elements without taking a stance, but the dense chronology of events – sanctions, drones, intelligence report, simultaneous diplomatic negotiations – underscores the gravity of the escalation.