US surveillance flights increase near Cuba as fuel runs out and tensions rise

US military intelligence-gathering flights have increased off Cuba’s coast recently as a broader pressure campaign against Havana now includes a rare CIA visit, a deepening fuel crisis and a possible US indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. 

An analysis of public flight-tracking data found that US Navy and Air Force aircraft have flown at least 25 intelligence-gathering missions near Cuba in recent weeks.   The flights have included Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, RC-135V Rivet Joint signals-intelligence aircraft and MQ-4C Triton high-altitude surveillance drones.   Some flights came within about 40 miles of the Cuban coastline, with activity concentrated near Havana and Santiago de Cuba.  

The aircraft involved are standard US military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms. The P-8A supports maritime patrol and reconnaissance missions, the RC-135 collects signals intelligence, and the MQ-4C Triton provides high-altitude, long-endurance surveillance over maritime regions. 

The flights by US surveillance aircraft do not appear to have entered Cuban airspace.   Public flight-tracking data does not establish that the aircraft were operated by the CIA, but the pattern points to a visible increase in US intelligence-gathering activity around the island at a time of rising pressure from Washington. 

The surveillance activity has unfolded alongside a rare visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana. Ratcliffe flew to Cuba and met with senior Cuban officials on May 14, 2026, including Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, as well as Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and Cuba’s intelligence chief.  

A CIA official said Ratcliffe delivered President Donald Trump’s message that the US is prepared to engage with Cuba on economic and security issues only if Havana makes “fundamental changes” to its communist government. The official also said Cuba can no longer serve as a safe haven for US adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.  

The pressure campaign now includes a possible criminal case against Raúl Castro. The US is taking steps to indict the 94-year-old former Cuban president in connection with the 1996 shootdown of aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian group based in Florida. A grand jury indictment against Castro could be handed down in the coming days.  

The Justice Department is reportedly seeking an indictment tied to the downing of two civilian aircraft flown by Brothers to the Rescue. Four Cuban Americans were killed in the shootdown.  

The Brothers to the Rescue aircraft were unarmed civilian planes. Cuba has long argued the aircraft violated its airspace, while the US and the victims’ families have maintained that the aircraft were shot down over international waters. 

The latest tensions come as Cuba faces a severe energy crisis. Cuba has reportedly run out of diesel and fuel oil, leaving the island’s power grid in critical condition and causing prolonged blackouts.  

In February 2026, Cuban aviation authorities warned that Jet A-1 fuel would not be commercially available at several airports, including Havana’s José Martí International Airport, for a period beginning on February 10. Flightradar24 reported at the time that a NOTAM for Havana stated “JET A1 FUEL NOT AVBL,” forcing airlines to cancel flights, adjust schedules or tanker fuel into Cuba.  

Air Canada suspended Cuba operations in February because of the fuel shortage, saying aviation fuel was expected to be unavailable at the island’s airports.  

The current status of jet fuel availability at every Cuban airport was not immediately clear, but the broader fuel crisis has worsened again in recent days, leading to widespread civil unrest and protests. The post US surveillance flights increase near Cuba as fuel runs out and tensions rise appeared first on AeroTime.

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