US Navy Flies 8 Surveillance Aircraft Near Cuba as Oil Blockade Pressure Intensifies
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 20
US Navy Flies 8 Surveillance Aircraft Near Cuba as Oil Blockade Pressure Intensifies
4 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 20
At least eight US Navy surveillance aircraft — five P-8A Poseidons and three MQ-4C Tritons — have operated near Cuba since May 11, with some flights coming within 50 miles of the island.
Flight-tracking data and analyst assessments suggest the publicly visible sorties are deliberate, aimed at enforcing Washington's effective oil blockade, spotting ship arrivals and deterring fuel deliveries from allies such as Venezuela.
The activity marks an escalation from early February, when BBC Verify found only one nearby P-8 flight and no comparable Triton operations, though an RC-135V reconnaissance aircraft made two passes.
The pressure campaign comes amid a fuel crisis in Cuba that has caused major blackouts and protests, while Havana denies threatening the US and Marco Rubio has paired criticism of Cuba's leadership with an offer of a "new relationship" with its people.
Why is the US military unmasking its advanced spy planes' locations for the whole world to see near Cuba?
With spy drones enforcing a blockade, can a secret CIA meeting in Havana prevent an open conflict?
As Washington prepares to indict a former leader, what 'deal' could possibly avert a new Caribbean crisis?