Anxiety and speculation are rising in Cuba following U.S. military actions in Venezuela and Iran, with some residents now openly discussing the possibility of intervention on the island, according to a new report. The sentiment reflects a mix of economic desperation, political frustration and fear of armed conflict.
In recent weeks, Cuban counterintelligence agents in civilian clothing visited Communist Party neighborhood representatives near a military installation in Havana, requesting the names of residents living nearby. According to local delegates, evacuation plans were being drafted after the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and killed more than 100 people, including 32 Cubans assigned to guard him.
After the subsequent U.S. and Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader over the weekend, concerns that Cuba could face similar action have only intensified. "I'm afraid of a military invasion," one neighborhood delegate said, speaking on condition of anonymity, to The New York Times. "The whole country feels fear."
However, at the same time others voice support for decisive change. Giovanny Fardales, a 53-year-old translator, said conversations across social circles increasingly point in one direction. "Everybody says the same thing: 'The Americans have to come so this ends,'" he said in a text message.
The debate unfolds amid a deepening economic crisis. Cuba's state utility projects an electricity shortfall of nearly 2,000 megawatts during peak demand, with outages lasting up to 20 hours a day in some regions. The United Nations' top official in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, warned that the energy crisis presents "acute humanitarian risks," particularly for people dependent on electricity for medical treatment.
President Donald Trump has suggested that Cuba's government could collapse under economic pressure rather than military force. "I think it's just going to fall," he said recently, adding that the U.S. could "very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba."
The possibility of U.S. action divides the island. Some, like religious leader Rita García Morris, say many hope for change but prefer a negotiated outcome. "The people want it to be peaceful," said a musician in Havana while historian Lillian Guerra said exhaustion is widespread: "on the island, people don't want war."
Originally published on Latin Times
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