The US armed forces are not conducting invasion drills in Cuba and are not actively preparing to take over the island, said General Francis Donovan, commander of US forces in Latin America, who heads the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Reuters reported.
"The United States is nevertheless ready to eliminate any threat to the US embassy in Cuba, to protect our base in Guantanamo Bay and to help our government deal with migratory flows from the island if necessary," Donovan said.
Donovan's statement was made during a Senate hearing, which discussed the increasingly aggressive use of the US military in South America, a region that the administration of President Donald Trump considers part of from the US sphere of influence.
Trump is attacking suspected drug trafficking boats and expanding his alliances with pro-US governments in South America to combat drug trafficking, Reuters notes.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia maintains a constant dialogue with Cuba and is discussing options for providing assistance to the island, TASS reported.
Peskov's comments are in connection with yesterday's information from the "Financial Times" newspaper, according to which two tankers with natural gas and oil are expected to arrive in Cuba next Monday and in early April.