Cuba Condemns US Nuclear Submarine in Guantánamo
Orinoco Tribune, July 12, 2023 —
Cuba condemned the presence of a US nuclear submarine at the Guantánamo naval base in Cuba earlier this month. Cuban authorities labeled the move a military provocation.
On Tuesday, July 11, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated via social media, “We categorically condemn the presence between July 5 and 8 of a nuclear submarine at the Guantánamo naval base. It constitutes a provocative escalation by the US, which forces us to question what strategic purpose it is pursuing in our region, declared a Zone of Peace.”
According to the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS), the submarine that docked at Guantánamo Bay is the USS Pasadena (SSN 752).
According to this information, the Pasadena has a crew of approximately 140 sailors. It is capable of supporting anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship surface warfare, strike warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
Condemnation by the Cuban Foreign Ministry
A statement issued by the Cuban Foreign Ministry reported that a nuclear-powered submarine entered Guantánamo Bay on July 5 and remained at the illegally occupied US military base until July 8.
It also questions the military reason for the submarine’s presence “in this peaceful region of the world, against what target it is directed, and what strategic purpose it is pursuing.”
Zone of Peace
The Cuban Foreign Ministry recalled that the 33 nations of the region are signatories to the Declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed in Havana in January 2014.
It emphasizes that the United States has established more than 70 military bases in the region, which “is a threat to the sovereignty and interests of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples.”
“Its senior military commanders have made public reference in recent times to the intention to use its war power to secure US ambitions over the natural resources of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Similarly, the Cuban Foreign Ministry warned of “the danger posed by the presence and movement of United States Armed Forces nuclear submarines in the nearby Caribbean region.” It reiterated its demand for the return of the Guantánamo territory illegally occupied by the United States.
US base at Guantanamo Bay
The US government has occupied a territory of 117 square kilometers in the Cuban province of Guantánamo for 121 years. The occupation is against the will of the Cuban people and is a colonial remnant of the illegitimate military occupation of Cuba that began in 1898.
For Cuba, it is an enclave that, for many years, has lacked strategic or military importance for the United States. “Its permanence only fulfills the political objective of trying to insult the sovereign rights of Cuba,” Cuba’s communique states.
In recent decades, its practical utility has been reduced to serving as a center for detention, torture and systematic violation of the human rights of dozens of citizens from various countries under the excuse of fighting terrorism.