General Francis L. Donovan, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, met with senior Cuban military officials on Friday amid rising tensions between the two governments.
The meeting was announced by Southcom and took place near Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, marking a notable point of direct military contact between the two nations.
Donovan met with Cuba’s First Deputy Minister of the Chief of the General Staff, Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, along with other senior Cuban military leaders during the engagement.
The talks came at a time of heightened friction between Washington and Havana, with the Trump administration continuing to apply pressure on the Cuban government.
Southcom’s announcement of the meeting confirmed Donovan’s attendance but offered limited detail about the specific topics discussed during the session.
The choice of location near Naval Station Guantánamo Bay added significance to the meeting, given the base’s long and complicated history in U.S.-Cuba relations.
Friday’s engagement represented a direct line of communication between U.S. military leadership and their Cuban counterparts at a sensitive diplomatic moment.
The Trump administration has been escalating its posture toward Cuba in recent weeks, creating a tense backdrop for any military-level discussions between the two sides.
Southcom, which oversees U.S. military operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, plays a central role in managing American defense relationships throughout the region.
The meeting between Donovan and Sotolongo signals that military channels between the U.S. and Cuba remain at least partially open despite the broader political tensions between their governments.