US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz docks in the Gulf of Panama, March 30, 2026. Photo: AP/Matias Delacroix.
US Southern Command reported that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group were deployed in the Caribbean, heightening the threat of possible US military attack on Cuba.
“USS Nimitz has proven its combat prowess across the globe, ensuring stability and defending democracy from the Taiwan Strait to the Arabian Gulf,” SOUTHCOM stated in its social media post on Wednesday, May 20, calling the Persian Gulf “Arabian Gulf” after Trump.
Welcome to the Caribbean, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group!
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17), USS Gridley (DDG 101) and USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201) are the epitome of readiness and presence, unmatched reach and lethality, and strategic… pic.twitter.com/83mfzSIKzd
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) May 20, 2026
The USS Nimitz strike group includes fighter jets, the logistics support ship Patuxent, and the destroyer Gridley.
In March, the US Southern Command reported that Washington’s oldest aircraft carrier would conduct military maneuvers this year with the maritime forces of 10 “allied” Latin American countries, including some with coastlines in the Caribbean.
The deployment of this aircraft carrier occurs in the context of the tightening of US blockade against Cuba, after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 29, declaring a “national emergency” due to the “unusual and extraordinary threat” that Cuba supposedly represents to the security of the US and the region.
Based on this, Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba, as well as threats of reprisals against those who act against the executive order. The threat of military action against the island was also announced.
On May 19, the US Department of Justice accused former President Raúl Castro of the downing of a plane of the terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue in 1996. The indictment was formalized in Miami and claims that Castro was responsible for the death of four crew members, three of them Americans, during the incident that occurred in Cuban airspace 30 years ago.
The Cuban government condemned the accusation and asserted that that US has neither legitimacy nor jurisdiction to carry out a legal action against Castro. It emphasized that Cuba’s response was due to the violation of its airspace, constituting an act of legitimate defense.
After the unprovoked aggression against Iran, which lasted 40 days and has not yet reached a final ceasefire agreement, Trump has declared on several occasions that the next target on his list is Cuba.
(Últimas Noticias) by María Eugenia Rodríguez
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
