By John Harney | Updated on Jun 10, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel to the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday as the Trump administration continues to demand drastic reforms by the communist government in Havana.
The secretary will “engage with troops” both at Guantanamo and at the headquarters in Tampa, Florida, of US Central Command, which is carrying out the American military campaign in Iran, the Pentagon said in an advisory on Tuesday.
Hegseth’s Cuban visit marks the third in recent weeks by a prominent US official as the Trump administration continues a virtual blockade of the island nation. On May 29, Marine General Francis Donovan, the leader of Southern Command, held an unusual meeting with Cuban commanders at the edge of the Guantanamo Bay base.
In mid-May, Central Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe led a delegation to Havana for talks with government officials. People familiar with the matter said then that the US had grown frustrated over a lack of progress on getting the island to free up its economy and political system.
Earlier: CIA Chief Visits Cuba in Fresh Sign of US Frustration Over Talks
About a week later, US prosecutors charged the country’s 94-year-old former president, Raúl Castro, and several others with murder over the shooting down of two civilian aircraft in 1996.
Though the US first imposed a trade embargo on Cuba during the Eisenhower administration, President Donald Trump sharply escalated the economic offensive after he returned to office. Those actions, including cutting off Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba, have exacerbated already dire conditions in the country.
Read more: UN Says Children Are Dying in Cuba Due to Harsh US Sanctions
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have suggested that if the new restrictions don’t bring about a change in government, military force might be necessary.
The Defense Department did not immediately respond on Tuesday evening to a request for comment regarding Hegseth’s itinerary.