US, Cuban military hold rare meeting on Guantanamo Bay's perimeter

The commander of US Southern Command met senior Cuban military officials on the perimeter of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on Friday in a rare face-to-face exchange between the two countries' armed forces.

Gen. Francis Donovan met Cuban Army Corps Gen. Roberto Legra Sotolongo, First Deputy Minister of the Chief of the General Staff and other senior Cuban military leaders "for a brief exchange on operational security matters," US Southern Command wrote on US social media platform X.

Donovan also led a perimeter security assessment of the naval base and discussed force protection, safety of service members and their families, and operational readiness with base officials, said SOUTHCOM.

In a post on US social media platform X, Cuba's Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) said the meeting was "positive."

It said issues in the interest of both sides were addressed as they agreed to continue communication between the commands.

Previously, a US delegation, led by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, visited Havana for talks with officials, with both sides discussing relations and security cooperation.

Cuba has faced severe fuel shortages and widespread power outages since the US imposed an oil embargo Jan. 30.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously sought to deny the existence of an embargo, but an executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 29 explicitly threatens to impose US tariffs on any country "that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba."

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said at a high-level open debate at the UN Security Council last week that Washington's actions are undermining international peace and security and amount to an "act of war" through an energy blockade.