Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel on Wednesday to the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to engage with troops, the Pentagon said in a brief statement.
The visit, announced in a one-sentence statement on Tuesday afternoon, comes as Washington ramps up pressure against the communist-led island with sanctions and a crippling oil blockade.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly signalled that he wants to topple the communist government in Cuba, linking this move to the strong political support of Cuban-Americans that helped him return to the White House.
In addition to Guantanamo, the Pentagon said, “Hegseth will also travel to Tampa, Florida, where US Central Command (CENTCOM) is headquartered. CENTCOM oversees US forces in the Middle East, including operations against Iran.”
In May, the top US general overseeing operations in Latin America visited Guantanamo, where he met with Cuban military leaders.
The US military said, “at the time, the meeting by General Francis Donovan was a brief exchange on operational security matters.”
“Gen Donovan also led a perimeter security assessment of the naval base and discussed force protection, safety of service members and their families, and operational readiness with base officials,” US Southern Command added.
Two weeks earlier, CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana and met with Cuban officials.
Guantanamo Bay, 700 kilometres southeast of Miami on the southeastern coast of Cuba, is notorious as the site of abuse against prisoners detained after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Trump has also sought to use the base as a holding centre for deporting migrants.
