With Trump, Colombia and Cuba are in Play

Critics warn that if President Trump’s administration intervenes into Latin America, it will result in another Bay of Pigs incident.  However, they fail to understand that with President Trump in office, counter to former presidents, Trump allows qualified people do their job, including the military and CIA. 

The Bay of Pigs incident of the 1960s occurred because in trying to keep U.S. intervention covert, democrat President John F. Kennedy changed the invasion site and manipulated the CIA’s top-secret mission, Project Mongoose, resulting in the project being a total failure, resulting in numerous deaths.  Operation Mongoose had the goal of overthrowing Fidel Castro in Cuba through the coordination of “American intelligence, Cuban exiles, and organized crime.”  In addition to his already misguided judgment, in the middle of the operation, “Kennedy, who’s number one goal was hiding the hand of the U.S. government,” made the decision to “cancel the air strikes set to destroy the remaining fleet of Cuban bombers.”  Additionally, artillery and weapons drops were bumbled because of interference “at the highest U.S. Government levels.”  These mistakes caused multiple deaths not only of Cubans, but also of CIA contract pilots, with some saying this led to CIA involvement with Kennedy’s assassination.

Why would the U.S. be interested in Cuba?  Cuba has been ruled by a communist dictatorship for more than six decades.  In 2024, according to Human Rights Watch, Cuba’s government has continued “to repress and punish virtually all forms of dissent and public criticism,” while the country itself is in a severe economic crisis, “including access to health and food.”  Everyone from song writers to opposition leaders who oppose the communist regime are thrown into overcrowded prisons, where food shortages, inadequate healthcare, and tuberculosis outbreaks are rampant, with prisoners having no mechanism to seek redress for abuses. 

Besides the human rights violations, Cuba, being only 100 miles from the U.S. coast, has long been a hotbed for hostile foreign espionage operations into the U.S.  Eduardo Gamarra, a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, stated that Cuba had a long-term relationship with the Soviet Union, which has continued with Russia, with Russians operating its largest overseas intelligence site at Lourdes Signals Intelligence Complex (SIGINT) near Havana, Cuba. 

China has “clear political and ideological motivations to keep afloat” Cuba, as it is “one of the world’s few remaining Communist Party-led governments.”  In fact, it was rumored in 2023 that China had a sophisticated “spy base” near Havana.  There are at least four active locations in Cuba where this Chinese “spy base” could be located.   The purpose of the base is to monitor sensitive communications from two U.S. Air Force bases, two U.S. Naval Air Stations, the U.S. Southern Command headquarters, a U.S. submarine base, and Cape Canaveral Space Launch Center, all of which are located on the shores around Florida.  According to the February 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community (ATA), Cuba was listed as one of several countries where China plans to establish military installations.   This taken together with the fact that China presently controls both ends of the Panama Canal, and has at least 37 seaports in Latin America that they either own or have part ownership, the threat become very clear, and a serious series of violations of the Monroe Doctrine.

Even U.S. President Joe Biden did not lift President Trump’s first term re-designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

President Trump says the Cuban regime is “ready to fall.” Secretary Marco Rubio’s parents fled Cuba under the communist reign of Miguel Diaz-Canel.  Rubio says , the Cuban regime should “be concerned.”  Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says, “There’s no way that the communist dictatorship in Cuba survives after the takedown of Maduro.  It is over, it’s just a matter of time.”  Trump says, “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA — ZERO!  I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

Then we have Colombia.  According to a December 2025 report, Colombia produced about 70% of the cocaine consumed over the past year with the demand coming primarily from the U.S. and Europe.  Reports from 2023 show that cocaine overdoses result in about 8.6 deaths per 100,000 people, which is considerably higher than the 2010 rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people.  In July 2025, Trump stated, “From day one of the Trump administration we declared an all-out war on the dealers, smugglers, traffickers and cartels.”

Perhaps even more alarming than its illegal drug trade is Colombia’s ties to Russia and China.  While Colombia has claimed neutrality during the years of the Russia-Ukraine War, somehow its Mi-17 Russian made military helicopters are being “covertly” repaired according to a May 2025 report, which is not possible without Russian involvement.  In fact, Russia announced plans to open a regional helicopter and repair service in Peru, just south of Colombia.  In addition, Colombia announced in June of 2025 that it has joined the New Development Bank, known as the “BRICS bank.”  BRICS is an economic block led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 

Then there is China’s influence with Colombia joining Communist China’s “debt-trap” Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in May 2025.  The U.S. House of Representatives has “raised warnings” that the CCP is using its BRI to indebt countries so as to then leverage influence over the developing world.  Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio testified before a House panel that the BRI has established a presence in more than 100 countries around the world and said, “I don’t think any of us want to live in a world dominated by the Chinese Communist Party.”  BRI acts as a debt-trap because while China loans tremendous amounts of money for development projects, as the loans come due and the countries cannot repay, it enables China to exert economic and political leverage.  Seeing the devious tactics of BRI, Italy pulled out of the project.  When Colombian President Gustavo Petro joined BRI, he destabilized Colombia’s $35 billion annual trade relationship with the U.S.

Concerning Colombia, President Trump says, “Colombia is very sick, too. Run by a sick man [President Gustavo Petro] who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long.”   Then when asked by a reporter whether the U.S. would embark on a military operation against Colombia, Trump replied, “it sounds good to me.”

Since Russia and China have already intervened in Latin America, America has to intervene, before it is too late.