Trump administration escalates "accelerated pressure" on Cuba, rehearses military response options

May 28th, according to Axios, the Trump administration is implementing a "phased accelerated pressure" strategy against the Cuban government and has prepared multiple military response options for a potential crisis in Cuba this summer. The report quotes several senior US officials stating that the US aims to weaken Cuba's economic lifeline by tightening economic sanctions and imposing "secondary sanctions" on the Cuban military-industrial group GAESA, forcing companies including Canadian mining firm Sherritt International and shipping companies CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd to suspend their operations in Cuba. The US Southern Command recently held an interagency "tabletop exercise" to discuss response options in the context of Cuba's summer heat, power outages, and material shortages, should large-scale demonstrations and government crackdowns occur. Trump has not yet approved an invasion plan but has asked the military to be "on standby."