ACTION ALERT: The Lies that Precede
Trump’s Invasion of Cuba
CODEPINK
https://www.codepink.org/axios_cuba
(May 22, 2026) — The warning signs are flashing.
Axios recently published a report claiming U.S. officials are assessing allegations that Cuba acquired hundreds of military drones and discussed possible attacks on Guantánamo, U.S. vessels, and even Key West. The report spread rapidly across social media despite major questions and pushback, with many readers publicly challenging the credibility of the claims and lack of context being presented.
At the very same time, the Trump administration is escalating pressure on Cuba through new sanctions, threats against the island’s economy, and now the formal indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has deployed thousands of troops in the Caribbean, including the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group near Cuba, while politicians and media outlets ramp up fear and speculation around the island.
We have seen this script before: economically suffocate a country with sanctions, amplify fear through sensational headlines and anonymous intelligence claims, blame the targeted government for the resulting suffering, then present U.S. intervention and domination as “help.”
Media outlets have a responsibility to investigate power, not echo unverified narratives that fuel panic, justify escalation, and manufacture consent for yet another regime-change agenda.
Tell Axios: Stop manufacturing consent for intervention in Cuba.
Right now, Cuba is facing blackouts, fuel shortages, food shortages, and deep economic suffering driven by decades of U.S. sanctions and an escalating campaign targeting the island’s access to fuel and international trade. The Trump administration has threatened penalties on countries and companies supplying oil to Cuba, while major shipping companies have suspended Cuba routes under U.S. pressure. Cuban officials say the island has effectively run out of diesel and fuel oil.
Despite this reality, Marco Rubio claims there is “no oil blockade” on Cuba and dismisses the crisis as simply Venezuela no longer giving the island “free oil.” This is a lie. Cuba and Venezuela maintained cooperation agreements in which Cuba sent doctors, healthcare workers, teachers, and technical specialists in exchange for oil and economic support. At the same time, the U.S.heavily sanctioned Venezuela’s oil industry while also targeting companies transporting fuel to Cuba, making it increasingly difficult for either country to maintain those agreements.
This suffering did not appear out of nowhere. It is the human consequence of years of economic warfare designed to squeeze and isolate an entire country.
Instead of lifting the blockade, Washington is escalating even further: new sanctions, indictment against 94-year-old Raúl Castro, and now a fear-driven drone narrative being amplified across the media cycle.
ACTION: Tell Axios: Stop spreading fear-driven narratives that pave the way for an attack on Cuba.
The U.S. has no right to attack Cuba, threaten Cuba, starve Cuba, or decide Cuba’s future. The people of Cuba need fuel, medicine, food, and sovereignty. For more than 60 years, Washington has tried to force Cuba into submission through economic warfare, isolation, and regime-change operations. Media outlets should not help recycle the narratives used to justify escalation and intervention.
Cuba does not need another “new relationship” written in Washington. Cuba needs the U.S. to get out of its way.
THE LETTER
Stop Manufacturing Consent for Intervention:
Let’s Build a Real Good Neighbor Policy!
It’s time for a fundamental shift in how the United States engages with Latin America and the Caribbean. For too long, U.S. foreign policy toward the region has been rooted in dominance and interference, rather than mutual respect and cooperation. But there is a better path forward, one based on the simple yet powerful idea of being a good neighbor. By centering our relationships on peace, solidarity, and shared prosperity, we can begin to undo the harm caused by decades of exploitation and chart a new course for the future.
For too long, the United States has treated Latin America and the Caribbean not as sovereign partners but as a zone of influence, a “backyard” to exploit and control. This mindset has shaped two centuries of foreign policy built on sanctions, regime change, and military aggression.
What we need today is not a new slogan, but a complete shift in consciousness. One that replaces dominance with cooperation, and fear with solidarity. Real security will never come from coercion or control, but from mutual respect, shared prosperity, and peace across the Americas.
What would it mean for the United States to be a Good Neighbor, it should:
- Not meddle.Meddling in the affairs of other countries can take many forms, whether it’s interfering in domestic policies, interfering in elections, applying sanctions, military interventions or outright war, among others.
- Respect and appreciate differences.Countries in the hemisphere have different cultures, religions, ethnicities, languages, political systems and histories; we must treat others equally under international law, respect our differences and learn from them.
- Work together for the common good.Whether it’s trading fairly, building regional democratic institutions, addressing the climate crisis or helping migrants, only by working together can we resolve the problems we face.
For generations, U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean has produced war, coups, dictatorships, police states, mass migration, environmental destruction, and deep inequality. These are not isolated crises, they are symptoms of a single system built on domination. The connections are clear: trade policies that favor corporations and industrial agribusiness drive displacement and migration; U.S. weapons flow south while drugs flow north; sanctions and extraction devastate communities and ecosystems. This cycle of exploitation enriches a few while inflicting violence and poverty on millions.
The peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean have understood this for centuries. In 1829, Simón Bolívarwarned that the United States seemed “destined to plague the Americas with misery in the name of liberty.”
But we know this is not destiny, it is the result of political choices. And those choices can change. It is up to us to demand a new approach. One grounded in respect, cooperation, and justice
I pledge to work to transform the United States into a true Good Neighbor.
Sincerely,
Other Ways to Engage
👉 Join our next Cuba Community call to hear updates from organizers, discuss the growing escalation against Cuba and learn how to take action. We need all hands on deck right now.
👉 Read: The Indictment of Raúl Castro: A New Low in U.S. Cuba Policy by Medea Benjamin.
👉 If you haven’t already, ask World Central Kitchen to feed Cuba during this Man-Made Crisis.
👉 We just returned from Holguín, where our delegation distributed aid and saw firsthand how the blockade affects farms, food production and daily life. Watch the video and photos.
In Solidarity,
Medea, Michelle, Teri & the whole CODEPINK Team
