World
Russian warships in Cuba: Is it a port of call or show of strength?
On Wednesday, dozens of Havana residents gathered and watched as Russian warships sailed into Cuba’s main harbour – in the latest display of naval strength by Moscow amid heightened tensions with the United States.
The Caribbean nation is a neighbour of the US, which at its closest point, is just about 150 kilometres (94 miles) away, but have had tense relations for decades.
While it is not the first time Russian navy ships have visited Cuba, this convoy appears to be the largest in several years. The fleet is expected to stay between June 12 and 17 and the public will be allowed to take tours of the vessels.
Here’s what we know about why Russia has sent ships to Cuba now, how far back Russian-Cuban ties go, and why the two have gotten closer in the past year:
Why are the warships in Havana?
The flotilla is part of a “friendly” routine visit between the two countries’ navies, Cuban officials have said. The crew on board are expected to conduct military training exercises during their time in the Caribbean.
But analysts have said Moscow’s move is largely calculated to flex naval muscle in the US’s back yard. The detachment comes after escalating tensions between Russia and the US, following President Joe Biden’s decision in May to allow Ukraine to attack Russian targets with American weapons.
Russian President Putin has promised retaliation against not only the US, but also other Western allies of Ukraine who also removed restrictions on using their weapons against Moscow.
“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin said last week, adding that Moscow was ready to use nuclear weapons.
Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America programme at the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center think tank, told The Associated Press news agency that “the warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your [neighbourhood].”
The naval show-off is also meant to reassure Moscow’s Latin American allies – Cuba and Venezuela, of its continued support for them against Washington, some experts said.
Like Russia and Cuba, economically ravaged Venezuela has unpleasant relations with the US and is under American sanctions.
What ships did Russia deploy and how much of a threat are they?
The Russian fleet includes four vehicles in total.
- Admiral Gorshkov: is the lead ship in the convoy. The frigate – that is, a warship that is light to steer and can be easily manoeuvred – is one of the Russian navy’s most modern models. It is capable of carrying out long-range missile attacks and anti-submarine warfare while being difficult to spot with radars because of the use of stealth technology. The ship is equipped with Zircon hypersonic missiles, which Putin has in the past said can fly nine times faster than the speed of sound at a range of more than 1,000km (more than 620 miles). It also carries Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.
- Kazan: is a nuclear-powered submarine and houses a nuclear reactor. The vehicle is also believed to be equipped with missiles from the Kalibr and Oniks families.
- Pashin – the fleet’s oil tanker, and a rescue tugboat – Nikolai Chiker – complete the convoy as support vehicles.
How has the US responded?
US officials are publicly downplaying the deployment, and say it is part of usual port-calls between Russia and Cuba.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that such naval exercises were routine and that there were no signs Moscow was transferring missiles to Havana.
Last July, Perekop – a Russian training ship equipped with anti-aircraft guns and a rocket launcher – was on a four-day visit to Havana and conducted “a range of activities” according to Cuban officials. The Admiral itself visited in 2019.
“We have seen this kind of thing before, and we expect to see this kind of thing again, and I’m not going to read into it any particular motives,” Sullivan said, adding that the US would remain vigilant.
The US deployed ships and planes that monitored the movement of the fleet even before it arrived in Cuba and assessed there were no nuclear weapons on board, officials speaking to US media said, noting that the fleet stayed in international waters throughout.
What are Cuba and Russia saying?
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that the fleet had conducted drills in the Atlantic while on the way to Cuba.
The Russian crew practised using high-precision missile weapons with the aid of computer-simulated enemy ship targets located at a distance of more than 600km (more than 320 nautical miles), according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, the Cuban Foreign Ministry, before the fleet’s arrival, stressed that none of the warships would carry nuclear weapons and added that their presence “does not represent a threat to the region”.
“Visits by naval units from other countries are a historical practice of the revolutionary government with nations that maintain relations of friendship and collaboration,” the ministry said in a statement.
Is this a replay of 1962?
Both Russia and Cuba have long been united in their opposition to the US. During the Cold War, their ties deepened intensely, as the then-Soviet Union befriended the ideologically aligned Havana. Moscow provided financial aid, military equipment, and naval training, boosting the country’s military might in the Caribbean.
Things came to a head in 1962 when Moscow transferred nuclear weapons to Cuba, prompting a response from the US, which imposed a naval blockade on Havana in response. That tense episode is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
The fall of the Soviet Union saw Cuba lose a major economic partner and fall into economic depression. But in recent years, the countries’ cooperation has again deepened.
Analysts have said this week’s naval show-off marked that intensifying relationship, but noted that it does not necessarily mean a rehash of events in 1962. Rather, Cuba, in particular, is again drawn to Russia for economic reasons, rather than ideology.
How have their economic ties deepened in the past year?
In the longest-lasting trade sanctions in modern history, the US has since 1958 banned American entities from trading with Cuba – following Fidel Castro’s overthrow of a US-backed government in Havana.
Although the sanctions have been eased at different times, they have largely remained over the years. In 2015, US President Barack Obama decided to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba after 50 years, but his successor Donald Trump reversed course nearly four years later.
That has partly contributed to a continuing economic crisis in the Caribbean country – alongside shaky government economic policies – analysts said.
“The blockade qualifies as a crime of genocide,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said at a UN General Assembly meeting in November, referring to the US sanctions.
Deteriorating public services, regular power cuts, food and fuel shortages, and high inflation have pushed Cuba into its worst economic crisis in decades.
In recent years, Cuba has again turned to Russia, aiming to draw foreign investors. The two countries, last May, kicked off a series of economic partnerships, including one that will allow Russian businesses to lease Cuban land for 30 years – an unusual move in the largely closed-off country.
Bilateral trade between Cuba and Russia reached $450m in 2022, three times that of 2021, Russian officials said. About 90 percent of the trade comprised sales of petroleum products and soy oil, as Russia pumps in badly needed fuel to the country.
Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba’s former minister of foreign commerce, told reporters on the sidelines of a business forum hosting Russian investors in Havana last May that the economic ties between Russia and Cuba would only grow stronger.
“Nothing and no one can stop it,” Cabrisas said.
A professional gambler and FBI informant has made good on his threat to take legal action against Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell, as attorneys for Robert “R.J.” Cipriani have filed a 67-page complaint against the media exec in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Among the allegations Cipriani has brought against Shell are breach of oral contract and fraud, charges related to a reformatted Spanish-language TV show that never got off the ground. The court document claims that Shell broke “a clear promise to help [the] plaintiff develop an English-language version” of Roku Channel’s four-part series Serenata de las Estrellas, which was co-produced by Cipriani in 2023.
Cipriani is suing Shell for $150 million in damages.
“This case arises from the oldest form of fraud: A powerful man took everything a less powerful man had to offer, promised to repay him, lied to him when he asked about it and then refused to compensate him at all,” the second paragraph of the complaint states.
Cipriani claims he had provided Shell with what amounts to 18 months of “sophisticated, high-value crisis communications services,” all of which went uncompensated. Shell allegedly agreed to develop Star Serenade, an adaptation of Serenata, in exchange for these services, but did not follow through.
The legal document also includes allegations that Shell had disclosed sensitive information about the Paramount’s bid to acquire the Warner Bros. Discovery assets. Cipriani states that Shell in a Feb. 2 meeting had told him that PSKY “intended to enhance and ‘sweeten’ its pending hostile tender offer … to $30 per share in cash,” information that was not made public until Feb. 10. (Cipriani claimed that Shell during that same meeting referred to WBD CEO David Zaslav as a “suck-up.”)
Cipriani went on to state that Shell told him, “We’re paying way too much for Warner Bros. If we could just wait another year, we could get it a whole lot cheaper.”
Paramount and WBD formally entered a $111 billion merger agreement on Feb. 27. Should the deal be met with regulatory approval, the combined CBS Sports/TNT Sports portfolio will bring the rights to the NFL, NHL, MLB, college football, the UFC, the Masters and March Madness under one roof. Shell did not participate in the briefing Paramount convened with analysts the following Monday.
A few pages deeper into the complaint, Cipriani stated he had filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to disclosures Shell had made to him regarding the then-pending $7.7 billion Paramount-UFC deal. Cipriani claims Shell told him about the pact 26 days before it went public. Shell is said to have shared details of the negotiations with Cipriani despite the fact that “even UFC president Dana White did not yet know of the transaction.” (Oddly enough, Cipriani’s complaint alleges that Shell characterized the talks as “very hush hush” while he was spilling the beans.)
The legal complaint includes a screen shot of what appears to be a WhatsApp conversation between Cipriani and Shell, in which the latter states, “We are buying ALL of the UFC rights for the next 7 years for Paramount.”
When a draft of Cipriani’s complaint began circulating last month, an attorney representing Shell said the document was “riddled with clear errors of fact and law.” With the complaint now filed, Shell will have to opportunity to formally rebut Cipriani.
Shell is currently the subject of an internal Paramount investigation related to Cipriani’s claims and is expected to remain on the sidelines until the inquiry is complete. That said, no official action has been taken, and he remains on the job as of Tuesday afternoon.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As Cuba faces rolling blackouts, food shortages and renewed protests, Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá is warning in an interview to Fox News Digital that the island’s deepening crisis cannot be solved with economic reforms alone and is urging the United States to maintain pressure on the communist government in Havana.
The recent outages and shortages are tied to Cuba’s worsening energy and economic crisis.
A recent nationwide blackout was triggered by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the island’s largest power station, cutting electricity across much of the country, according to Reuters. The crisis has been compounded by fuel shortages after the Trump administration moved to curtail oil shipments to the island, particularly from Venezuela — one of Cuba’s main suppliers.
Cuban officials say U.S. sanctions have worsened the country’s economic difficulties, while repeated power plant failures and an aging electrical grid have left millions facing prolonged blackouts that have fueled growing public frustration and protests.
RUSSIA WARNS AGAINST ‘PROVOCATIVE ACTIONS’ AROUND CUBA AFTER 4 KILLED ONBOARD US-REGISTERED SPEEDBOAT
The state-run company blamed U.S. sanctions in an official statement, saying, “Without ending the financial blockade, there can be no permanent energy stability,” according to CubaHeadlines.
Rosa Maria Paya, daughter of late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, is seen during a tribute to her father’s memory in Santiago, Chile, April 17, 2017. (Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)
The Trump administration has increased pressure on Cuba in recent months, tightening sanctions and targeting oil shipments that help power the island’s energy system. The measures are part of a broader effort to weaken the Cuban government and support democratic change on the island.
“To President Trump, it’s important for you to know that the Cuban people are grateful for what this administration is doing and that we are ready, and we want to make Cuba great again,” Payá said, addressing him directly. “And that means an end to the communist dictatorship, not just a new economy, but a new republic.”
Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the most prominent Cuban–American voices in U.S. politics, long has advocated a tougher stance toward Havana and stronger support for pro-democracy movements on the island.
The Trump administration recently has increased pressure on the Cuban government, including measures targeting oil shipments that help sustain the island’s struggling energy sector.
Trump praised Rubio during a press conference Tuesday and suggested he could play a central role in any potential negotiations with Havana.
“Marco Rubio is doing a great job,” Trump said. “I think he’s going to go down as the greatest secretary of state in history. They trust Marco.”
“We want to work with President Trump and with Secretary Rubio, the opposition is united,” Payá said. “We have a plan. It’s called the Freedom Accord,” she added, referring to a democratic transition framework promoted by opposition groups in Cuba. “We are ready to lead this process. The moment is now, Mr. President.”
Opposition groups have developed the Freedom Accord, a political roadmap for democratic change, which she says would guide a transition away from the current system in Cuba.
Payá, 37, who escaped the country 13 years ago, has spent the past decade advocating internationally for democratic change in Cuba.
She is the daughter of prominent dissident Oswaldo Payá, founder of the Christian Liberation Movement and architect of the Varela Project, a petition campaign in the early 2000s that gathered more than 25,000 signatures demanding free elections and civil liberties in Cuba.
Her father died in 2012 alongside fellow activist Harold Cepero in what Payá describes as an assassination by the Cuban regime. Cuban authorities said the men were killed in a car crash in eastern Cuba, but the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights later concluded there were “serious indications” that Cuban state agents were involved in the deaths.
“After the Cuban regime assassinated my father … I have been trying to follow his legacy together with many, many other Cubans on the island and in exile that today believe that we have a real chance and freedom,” she said, describing a movement that today includes activists both on the island and in exile.
FLORIDA LAUNCHES PROBE AFTER CUBA KILLS 4 ABOARD US-FLAGGED SPEEDBOAT NEAR KEYS
Members of the “Ladies in White” opposition group march beside the funeral procession of Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba’s best-known dissidents, in Havana, July 24, 2012. (Reuters)
The crisis inside Cuba has reached a level where basic survival has become a daily struggle for many families, according to Payá.
“The situation today is that mothers don’t know if they are going to be able to feed their child tonight,” she said. “Most of the island has been suffering blackouts that last for days on many occasions.”The island has experienced waves of unrest in recent years driven by economic collapse and political repression.
The largest demonstrations against the regime erupted on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the island chanting “freedom” in the biggest protests since the 1959 revolution.
Authorities responded with mass arrests and prison sentences for many demonstrators.
For Payá, those protests reflected something deeper than economic frustration.
“The Cuban people have been fighting for freedom for the last 67 years,” she said. “We are demanding political freedom, not just a new economy.”
Despite comparisons between Cuba’s crisis and the political turmoil in Venezuela, Payá argues the situation in Cuba is fundamentally different.
“Cuba’s situation is quite different,” she said. “This is the longest running communist dictatorship in the Western hemisphere.”
MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION
Cuban exiles block the Palmetto Expressway at Coral Way in support of protesters in Cuba in 2021 in Miami. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)
While she emphasized that Cubans themselves must ultimately drive political change, Payá said international pressure remains essential because of the regime’s ability to repress dissent.
Her appeal comes as Cuba has re-emerged in Washington’s foreign policy discussions.
Payá said the Cuban opposition hopes the United States will continue supporting democratic change on the island.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Anabel Oliva, 20, speaks outside the University of Havana during a protest against disruptions in classes due to energy and internet shortages, amid U.S. sanctions and an oil blockade that have deepened the country’s crisis, in Havana, Cuba, March 9, 2026. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)
“I believe that President Trump knows very well, better than anyone, the difference between a real deal and a better one,” she said. “He understands that this dictatorship must end.”
“To end the crisis,” she added, “we need to end the regime.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Rubio for comment and has not yet received a reply.
Reuters contributed to this report.
An Israeli air strike has heavily damaged a building in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district.
An Israeli air strike has heavily damaged a building in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district as Israeli forces continue to attack across the area. The army says it is targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure and has warned residents south of the Litani river to leave.
Published On 10 Mar 2026
Chemistry Class | DEVILS NOW | New Jersey Devils
Tanya Tucker to perform at New Mexico State Fair
These 4 Western NC towns are among WorldAtlas favorites for 2026
Four area players land on North Dakota Division A all-state team
Unique migration: Mole salamanders are back in Northeast Ohio
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City
Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf
Israeli air strike targets building in south Lebanon
Ed Martin, outspoken Justice Department lawyer, is formally accused of ethical violations | CNN Politics
Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Maryland1 week agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Pennsylvania5 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Florida1 week agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Sports6 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Miami, FL6 days agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Detroit, MI4 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year