Cuba hopes for World Cup respite from US sabre-rattling – but prepares for the worst

A man sells used items on the street in Havana, Cuba, on 6 May 2026. Photograph: Norlys Perez/Reuters View image in fullscreen A man sells used items on the street in Havana, Cuba, on 6 May 2026. Photograph: Norlys Perez/Reuters Cuba hopes for World Cup respite from US sabre-rattling – but prepares for the worst With some matches being held in nearby Miami, a Cuban response to US military action could mar the tournament As Cuba crumbles under a nearly five-month-long US oil blockade, many on the island hope that the World Cup might save the island from US attack – or at least offer a respite until the competition ends on 19 July. “The beginning of the World Cup will make it more difficult for the United States to carry out a military action in Cuba,” said Carlos Alzugaray, Cuba’s former ambassador to the EU. “Cuba is very close to the US, and can hit many targets inside the US, especially in south Florida, with drones or other weapons.” Seven games, including Scotland versus Brazil, will be held in Miami , a little more than 200 miles from the north coast of Cuba. The Scottish Football Association expects 20,000 fans to travel there. Hegseth warns Cuba against acquiring weapons in visit to Guantánamo Bay Read more Eight nations have training camps in Florida , including England and Scotland. The first game scheduled in Miami – Uruguay versus Saudi Arabia – will be held on 15 June, and tens of thousands of fans are due to fly into the city. Last month, classified US intelligence documents leaked to the news site Axios, as part of a buildup of pressure on Cuba , suggested the island’s communist government has acquired 300 military drones from Russia and Iran. Some types of Iranian drones have a maximum range of 1,500 miles (2,400km). On Wednesday, the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, appeared to refer to the reports during a visit to the US military base in Guantánamo Bay. “It would be unwise for the government of Cuba to try to procure or get access to the types of weapons that could reach this base or the American homeland,” he told troops stationed there. There is no suggestion that Cuba would want to disrupt the tournament, but the country’s rulers have made clear it would respond to an attack in any way it could. Its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, warned that any US military assault on Cuba would result in “a bloodbath with incalculable consequences” . As during the 1962 missile crisis, Cuba’s proximity to the US once again comes into play – if on a less apocalyptic scale. “It’s a factor that complicates things for the American military,” said Alzugaray. “And it was not a factor in Venezuela or Iran. There was no way the Venezuelan or Iranian military could hit America.” Amid such talk, the World Cup is being seen as a potential salvation, or at least a reprieve from Trump’s attentions. “My theory is he can’t possibly attack during it,” said a European diplomat. Trump has been making jokes about military action for weeks, and as of Wednesday