U.S. military explores options for support in operations near Cuba

Washington — The U.S. Army Reserve is examining whether it can provide the military’s Southern Command with police forces, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months, according to an internal Army message reviewed by WTX US News.

Though the message makes no reference to Cuba, the request is for continued military planning aimed at Cuba, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to WTX US News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

There is no indication in the document that any units have received deployment orders. But the planning comes as the Trump administration puts intense economic pressure on Cuba and urges the island nation to make political reforms.

The message does not identify how many troops would be needed in the Southern Command’s region, which covers Central and South America, including the Caribbean. It also does not specify where the forces could be sent or what operation they would support. 

The document reviewed by WTX US News says Army Reserve headquarters is seeking feedback from subordinate commands on the possible availability of six types of formations that would fall under the authority of U.S. Southern Command. The units would “possibly [be] needed in 90-120 days,” according to the message, which directs commands to provide feedback to Army Reserve headquarters by Sept. 25. 

Among the units is a combat sustainment support battalion that specializes in coordinating logistics such as transportation, maintenance, fuel and supply needs, along with an engineer battalion. The document also seeks an expeditionary sustainment command that would oversee logistics across a theater of operations. 

The document generated last week also calls for a medical brigade to command and coordinate medical units, as well as a forward resuscitative and surgical detachment to provide emergency surgery and trauma care closer to U.S. forces. Finally, the document seeks a military police brigade — these units typically oversee military police forces responsible for security, detention and other law enforcement missions. 

Contacted by WTX US News, the Army Reserve did not respond before publication. 

A spokesperson for U.S. Southern Command said: “Due to operational security concerns, we do not disclose details or comment on U.S. operational movements or potential deployment timelines associated with current or future operations, contingencies, or planning. However, U.S. Southern Command continuously coordinates with the Joint Force to assess a range of potential requirements across its [area of responsibility] in support of assigned missions.”

On Saturday, President Trump told reporters at the White House he doesn’t believe the U.S. will need the military and that “Cuba and us will make a deal.”

“Cuba is failing very badly. We want to help Cuba. We want to open Cuba up to our people,” he said. “We have great Cuban Americans who want to go back. We want to open Cuba up to our people.”

Earlier this year, American forces conducted reconnaissance operations on the seafloor and maritime approaches surrounding the Cuban island, multiple U.S. military personnel told WTX US News. Separately, U.S. airpower components were placed on heightened readiness and directed to pre-stage personnel for potential deployment. Those plans, however, did not come to fruition. WTX US News is withholding certain details from publication that could potentially put U.S. service members at risk.

WTX US News reported in May that U.S. intelligence officials were assessing how Cuba would respond to possible U.S. military action, as the Trump administration accused Havana of strengthening ties with Russia, China and Iran. The intelligence community’s 2026 annual threat assessment largely portrays Cuba as an enabling environment for larger geopolitical competitors, rather than as an independent strategic threat.

In July, WTX US News reported that American military planners had examined a range of options for possible action against the island, including an Army-led air assault involving thousands of U.S. soldiers to be carried out by the 101st Airborne Division, the only unit trained for such a task. 

U.S. officials who spoke to WTX US News stressed in July that the briefings were not an indication that the president or the Pentagon had decided to go forward with an operation.

Since reentering office, Mr. Trump has asserted a more muscular U.S. role in the Western Hemisphere under what officials have dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine,” a Trump-era corollary to the Monroe Doctrine focused on limiting foreign adversaries and other perceived threats in the region. 

In April, American and Ecuadorian troops launched a joint mission aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal hub operated by a narco-terrorist organization. On Thursday, U.S. troops and agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration assisted Ecuadorian authorities in arresting more than 30 members affiliated with Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 

Since September, the U.S. military has killed more than 230 people in 70 strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The operations are a stark contrast to the U.S. military’s historical role of maritime drug interdiction and arrest. Some legal experts have said the strikes amount to illegal extrajudicial killings because U.S. forces are prohibited from intentionally targeting civilians or individuals suspected of criminal activity, unless they meet the legal standard governing the use of military force. 

For Cuba, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Cuban entities and officials, including military research and development enterprises tied to the country’s nickel industry ahead of the U.N. General Assembly this week. 

In New York, Mr. Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that his administration was seeking a “fundamental change” on the island and predicted Cuba’s communist government “will fall” and declared that “freedom will be coming to Cuba.” The Cuban delegation walked out during his remarks. 

Mr. Trump also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was “deep into negotiations” with Havana and vowed that the United States would not allow foreign adversaries to establish a strengthening foothold “on our own doorstep.” 

Those remarks follow months of increasingly explicit statements from Mr. Trump about Cuba. Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has vowed to counter any U.S. attack, and has accused the U.S. of “aggression” and “economic warfare” by blocking oil imports to Cuba.

Earlier this year, Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he believed he would have “the honor of taking Cuba.” 

“Taking Cuba in some form, yeah,” he said in mid-March. “Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it — I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth.” 

Later that month, Mr. Trump said bluntly: “Cuba’s going to be next.”