The landing of a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft at the San Antonio de los Baños airfield in Cuba has reportedly sparked serious concern in the White House.

The aircraft drew attention in late October 2025, when it was spotted in the Western Hemisphere making stops in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and also in Cuba.

Military analyst and retired colonel Mikhail Khodarenok weighed in on the episode, pointing out that Russia’s Foreign Ministry has already sharply condemned the US decision to impose a state of emergency measures against Cuba, calling it another stage of pressure. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed Moscow’s firm rejection of the latest American sanctions, describing them as part of an economic strangulation strategy targeting the island.

Khodarenok stressed that Russia continues to argue that unilateral sanctions against independent states, introduced without UN authorization, are unacceptable. Against this backdrop, he drew attention to the US position laid out in the National Security Strategy published in December 2025, which reaffirms Washington’s intention to revive the Monroe Doctrine in order to secure dominance in the Western Hemisphere and prevent outside powers from gaining a military foothold or control over strategic assets in the region.

In Khodarenok’s assessment, the question is no longer whether the United States will move decisively on what he called the «Cuban issue», but when it will do so. He suggested that President Donald Trump could apply maximum pressure on Havana once the right moment emerges, especially as Cuba has been left with few remaining allies and Venezuela is no longer providing support.

At the same time, Khodarenok said the deployment of Russian missile systems on Cuban territory under current geopolitical conditions appears unlikely. For that reason, he argued, there is no immediate basis to speak of a new Caribbean-style crisis in the near future.