After 60 years of oppression or "Satanic nightmare" by Dictator Fidel Castro in Communist Cuba, do you blame Cuban Americans like Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) for wanting to drop bombs on the heads of the regime leaders?
Mayor Suarez, who is considered to be a potential 2024 presidential candidate and an avid weightlifter, recently stated that “military action in Cuba” need to be an option, and if it was up to him, he would drop one of his 50 lb dumbells on Miguel Diaz-Canel’s head.
Diaz-Canel is Cuba’s current president.
“What should be being contemplated right now is a coalition of potential military action in Cuba,” said Suarez during an interview on Fox News.
Suarez added, “What I’m suggesting is that that option is one that has to be explored and cannot be just simply discarded as an option that is not on the table.”
He’s right.
Historically, the U.S. used the military against other oppressive regimes in Panama, Kosovo, and Pakistan, but Cuba is a whole different bag of tricks.
The case can be made to also drop the lead on Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro over his ongoing human rights atrocities, but like Cuba, Maduro is backed by China and Russia.
The bigger protagonist here is Russia, which has had a long-standing relationship ship with Communist Cuba.
After the Cold War ended, Russia pulled much of its support for Cuba, but because of former President Donald Trump’s strong foreign policy footprint while in office, particularly his opposition to Russians incursion into Ukraine, Russia has now decided to once again help its strategic ally.
Aid and investment in Cuba from Russia is surging. Trade between Cuba and Russia has jumped to $526 million since 2013 and forgave Cuba’s Soviet-era $125 billion debt load.
Now the Russians are bolstering Cuba’s electrical grid by installing four power plants and are committing another $2-3 billion to maintain its rail system.
What’s worse, and the big problem the U.S. will face if they decide to target the Cuban government is Russia’s military investment on the island.
Russia has extended a $457 million military loan to Cuba in 2019 and is also considering reopening up their “Lourdes” spy station.
But even though Russia appears to be fully invested in Cuba, could a coalition of nations put enough pressure on Russia to allow for an international military incursion in Cuba?
The truth is, if the U.S. were to drop bombs or launch several well-placed Tomahawk Cruise missiles into Havana, Russia would be hard-pressed to retaliate, let alone start a war over it.
