US intelligence-gathering flights are surging off Cuba

Key Points:

• Since early February 2024, US Navy and Air Force intelligence flights near Cuba have surged, with at least 25 missions using P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, RC-135V Rivet Joint signals intelligence planes, and MQ-4C Triton drones, mostly near Havana and Santiago de Cuba, some within 40 miles of the coast.
• The increase in flights follows heightened rhetoric and sanctions from former President Trump against Cuba, including an oil blockade and labeling Cuba a national security threat, while Cuban officials deny posing a danger and vow resistance if attacked.
• Similar patterns of increased publicly visible US surveillance flights preceded military actions in Venezuela and Iran under the Trump administration, suggesting the current Cuban flights may be part of a strategic signaling or preparatory posture.
• These flights are tracked openly via public flight tracking platforms despite the capability to mask them, indicating a possible deliberate US message to Cuban authorities and other observers about ongoing intelligence activities.
• The Pentagon declined to comment on the flights, and CNN has sought input from the Cuban government, which has yet to respond.