By Staff Writer, NewsAmericas Now
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Sept. 2, 2026: Two US Navy littoral combat ships have arrived at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, the latest sign of escalating US military pressure on the island.
The USS Billings docked first as part of its scheduled Caribbean deployment, followed by the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, which departed Naval Base Mayport, Florida on August 27th and arrived at Guantanamo Monday, according to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay’s social media announcements. Both vessels are designed for shallow coastal-water operations; the Navy describes the littoral combat ship class as addressing threats from coastal mines, terrorism, and stealth submarines while maintaining freedom of navigation through continuous maritime presence.
THE ARRIVAL
The arrivals follow months of unprecedented diplomatic and military maneuvers between Washington and Havana. In May, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met in Havana with senior Cuban interior ministry officials, delivering a message from the Trump administration that a “window of opportunity” would not remain open indefinitely. Days later, SOUTHCOM commander General Francis L. Donovan met at the Guantanamo base perimeter with Cuban General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, marking what CiberCuba described as the first such meeting between the two commands in recent times.
In mid-June, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Guantanamo and warned Cuba against acquiring weapons capable of reaching the base or US territory, saying “the future of Cuba is in the hands of its leadership” and that the Pentagon would consider “every possible option” in any contingency.
The military buildup extends beyond Guantanamo. Puerto Rico’s Roosevelt Roads naval base is now operating at full capacity with more than 8,100 troops conducting exercises under SOUTHCOM’s Operation Southern Lance, a deployment with a projected $79 million investment, CiberCuba reported.
ABOUT THE SHIPS
The USS Billings LCS 15, a Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), is the 8th Freedom-variant LCS, integrating new technology and capabilities to support current and future operations from deep water to the littoral. The LCS platform is a highly maneuverable, lethal, and adaptable shipdesigned to support focused missions, including mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, and surface warfare. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is a vital U.S. military base in Cuba, serving as a key operational and logistics hub for maritime security, humanitarian aid, and joint operations.
The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul LCS 21 is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship and is the 11th ship in the U.S. Navy’s family of modern vessels that maneuver in shallow coastal waters. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) network counters threats of coastal mines, terrorism, and stealth submarines. The ship preserves our nation’s freedom of navigation across the globe through an innovative combination of ship design and construction, crew skills and training, and operational programs that create continuous maritime presence and protection.
CUBA
Within Cuban exile circles, figures including José Daniel Ferrer and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara have expressed support for military action against the government, and an independent digital survey in May, with more than 42,000 responses, found 60.9% support for direct US military intervention, with 58% of responses geolocated from the island, according to CiberCuba.
Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel promised in March what he called “impregnable resistance” against any military action, while Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla has rejected characterizations of Cuba as a threat to US national security.
The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is scheduled to next participate in UNITAS 2026, the 67th edition of a multilateral naval exercise involving 24 nations, off the coast of Lima, Peru, beginning September 10.
NewsAmericasNow will continue tracking developments in US-Cuba relations. Reporting from CiberCuba contributed to this story.
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