Following US President Donald Trump's recent statements about his intention to "engage" with Cuba, a significant increase in US military reconnaissance aircraft activity has been recorded in the waters off the island's coast. This trend coincides with the expansion of sanctions pressure and the resumption of Washington's harsh rhetoric toward Havana.

According to data analyzed by CNN, since February 4, 2026, the US Navy and Air Force have conducted at least 25 reconnaissance sorties using manned and unmanned aircraft near the coast of Cuba. The majority of the flights were conducted by P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft designed for surveillance, as well as RC-135V Rivet Joint electronic reconnaissance aircraft and MQ-4C Triton high-altitude drones. The aircraft approached the country's two largest cities—Havana and Santiago de Cuba—at distances of up to 64 kilometers from the coast.

Experts emphasize that prior to February of this year, such overt demonstration flights off the coast of Cuba were extremely rare, making the current activity particularly unusual. Analysts view these actions as a deliberate signal to Havana, especially since similar patterns were observed prior to US military operations in Venezuela and Iran, where intelligence activity intensified in anticipation of military action.

The increase in military activity comes amid a sharply harsher rhetoric from Donald Trump. In an interview with the program Full Measure on May 9, the US president stated his intention to "engage" with Cuba after a Middle East settlement, calling the island nation "in decline." He entrusted Secretary of State Marco Rubio, known for his tough anti-Castro stance, with managing the Cuban file.

Furthermore, on May 1, Trump signed an executive order significantly expanding the sanctions regime against Cuba, imposing secondary sanctions on foreign companies operating in the island's energy and mining sectors and accusing Havana of providing a "favorable environment for hostile intelligence and terrorist operations" near U.S. borders. Havana rejects these accusations, calling them "collective punishment" and "genocidal acts," and declares its readiness for dialogue without the right to interfere in internal affairs.