US Military Surveillance Near Cuba: Rising Tensions and Strategic Messaging

Mon Jun 01 2026 07:27:50 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The US military's open tracking of surveillance flights close to Cuba aims to apply pressure on the island’s government amid escalating tensions, following an oil blockade.

The US military has been conducting and publicizing surveillance flights near Cuba as tensions between the two nations escalate. Analysis reveals the operation of US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft and MQ-4C Triton drones, which have drawn closer to Cuban airspace. This strategy is believed to be part of a broader effort to deter Cuba's allies from shipping oil to the island amidst an intensifying US-imposed blockade. Experts suggest this visible military presence serves both as a show of force and a means to enforce the blockade. Cuban officials have responded to US actions with accusations of creating a ‘fraudulent case’ for military intervention.

The US military has been publicly broadcasting the location of military surveillance flights near Cuba on plane-tracking websites, as Washington continues to exert pressure on the island's communist leadership.

Leaving flight transponders on 'is likely deliberate', said UK drone expert Dr. Steve Wright, with the US intending to send 'a clear message it has eyes in the sky to maintain the squeeze'.

BBC Verify analysis of data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24 shows at least five US Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft and three MQ-4C Triton surveillance drones have been operating in the Caribbean near Cuba since 11 May. Some aircraft have flown as close as 50 miles (80km) from the island.

Flight-tracking data cannot give a complete picture of US activity off Cuba as military aircraft do not always broadcast their positions but share their location for portions of a flight.

The deployment of these aircraft comes as US-Cuba tensions have risen significantly in recent months, after Washington imposed an effective oil blockade on the Caribbean nation.

It has also been reported by news site Axios that Havana has acquired drones capable of attacking the US mainland, which Cuba's foreign minister responded to by stating that the country 'neither threatens nor desires war' and accused Washington of building a 'fraudulent case' for military intervention.

These accusations were followed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offering a 'new relationship' with the Cuban people on Wednesday, blaming the island's 'unimaginable hardships' on its communist leadership.

Experts told BBC Verify that the public nature of these surveillance flights indicates the US is seeking to enforce the blockade and apply pressure on the Cuban government as well as deter its allies like Venezuela from attempting to get energy shipments to the island.

The resulting fuel crisis has led to major power blackouts and triggered protests in Cuba. President Donald Trump has also exerted significant pressure on Cuba, threatening intervention if the communist regime does not comply.

What the flight-tracking data shows

BBC Verify has tracked several flights by US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance jets including one on 11 May when the aircraft got within 50 miles (80km) of southern Cuba, according to Flightradar24 data. The P-8 continued to operate into the following day, returning to its base in Jacksonville, Florida.

On 15 May, two US MQ-4C Triton surveillance drones operated off the coast of southern Cuba, tracking similar routes previously flown by a Poseidon.

Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps colonel, noted that these recurrent flight paths indicate an intention to monitor shipping activity along Cuba's southern coast.

Experts have indicated that the drone surveillance efforts are likely part of a US initiative to deter Venezuelan vessels from breaching the oil blockade.