U.S. General Francis Donovan Meets Cuban General Roberto Legra Sotolongo at Guantanamo Bay

Senior U.S. and Cuban military officers met at Guantanamo Bay on Friday, with U.S. General Francis Donovan holding a "brief exchange on operational security matters" with Cuban General Roberto Legra Sotolongo near the American naval base.

“An American official—speaking to Reuters—said that the senior-most general who oversees U”

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The meeting took place as relations between Washington and Havana plunged amid growing U.S. pressure, with the U.S. still controlling the base in Guantanamo Bay and U.S. Southern Command describing it as a "vital operational and logistical hub" for countering threats in the hemisphere.

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TRT World reported that Donovan led a perimetre security assessment of the U.S. facility and discussed safety of service members and operational readiness, while CBS News said the head of SOUTHCOM met with Cuban officials at the edge of the American naval base.

The Pentagon also announced on Friday that a new unit of 1,300 sailors and Marines would be replacing the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which had been operating in the Caribbean since last summer.

The meeting came as President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Cuba through sanctions, an oil blockade and an expanded military presence in the Caribbean, and as Trump warned earlier this year that Cuba "is next" after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a January operation.

CBS News said Cuba regards the naval station as illegal and noted that fence-line meetings have occurred before, but it is far rarer for the head of SOUTHCOM to meet with senior Cuban officials.

CBS News

In Havana, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba needs to make sweeping economic and political reforms, while CBS News reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe conveyed that the U.S. could expand economic and security cooperation if Cuba made "fundamental changes."

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denied Havana poses any military threat to the U.S. and warned that a U.S. assault would cause a "bloodbath," as CBS News described the U.S. intelligence community analyzing how Cuba might respond to American military action.

CBS News said the U.S. intelligence community has analyzed how Cuba might respond to American military action and what kind of blowback may follow, including concerns that Cuba has acquired attack drones.

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CBS News also reported Rubio raised worries about Cuba hosting Chinese and Russian spy facilities, while it said Ratcliffe’s meeting in Havana earlier this month included introducing a paramilitary operator involved in a mission to capture Nicolás Maduro.

Al-Jazeera Net said the meeting came amid growing concerns in Cuba about a possible U.S. military attack on the island, and it quoted Josefina Vidal, the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister, accusing Washington of fabricating pretexts to justify taking action.

Al-Jazeera Net further reported that Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez warned of a "bloodbath" that would claim the lives of thousands of Cubans and Americans if Washington carries out any military action against the country.