Pete Hegseth arrives at US Naval Base in Guantanamo

Washington, Jun 10 (Prensa Latina) Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, arrived at the naval base located, against the will of the Cuban people, on a portion of Cuban territory occupied in Guantanamo. He got off the plane wearing shorts, a cap, and a t-shirt, and the soldiers he met with moments later were also dressed in the same attire, according to images published on the social network X.

June 10, 2026
15:42

Previews of the trip pointed out that he would speak with US troops deployed at the military facility and would also stop in Tampa for a meeting with officers of the US Central Command (Centcom), amidst growing tensions between Washington and Havana, and complications in the war with Iran.

The Pentagon says this is a tour to oversee military operations in the region and to make direct contact with deployed forces, at a time of an unprecedented increase in the US presence in the Caribbean and other geographic areas such as the Middle East.

Hegseth traveled to the naval base in February 2025 at a time when they were supporting operations there to detain undocumented immigrants subject to deportation by the Department of Homeland Security in the context of implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

Last September, Trump signed an executive order to officially change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, the former name the department held from 1789 to 1947. However, his decision faced an obstacle: only Congress has the power to do so.

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