US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz enters Caribbean amid rising tensions with Cuba

WASHINGTON: The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group have entered the Caribbean Sea amid rising tensions between the United States and Cuba, according to a report by The Hill.

The deployment comes as US President Donald Trump has intensified his rhetoric against Cuba and threatened action against the island nation, The Hill reported.

The carrier strike group includes the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, its air wing comprising F/A-18E Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and C-2A Greyhounds, along with USS Gridley, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and USNS Patuxent, a Henry J Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler.

The US Southern Command (Southcom), which oversees American military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America, announced the deployment on Wednesday. “USS Nimitz has proven its combat prowess across the globe, ensuring stability and defending democracy from the Taiwan Strait to the Arabian Gulf”, Southcom said in a post on X.

Welcome to the Caribbean, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group!

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17), USS Gridley (DDG 101) and USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201) are the epitome of readiness and presence, unmatched reach and lethality, and strategic… pic.twitter.com/83mfzSIKzd

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) May 20, 2026

The aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1975, recently conducted joint naval exercises with the Brazilian Navy off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, according to the US Embassy in Brazil.

Trump on Wednesday said the administration has Cuba “on our mind” after the US Department of Justice formally charged former Cuban President Raul Castro with murder and other offences linked to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft over international waters that killed four people.

“It’s very important,” Trump said. “It was a very big moment for people, not only Cuban Americans, but people who came from Cuba, that want to go back to Cuba, see their family in Cuba”. According to The Hill, the indictment was unveiled on Cuba’s Independence Day.

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is Cuban-American, issued a message in Spanish to the Cuban people, backing the US fuel blockade on the island while blaming recurring power outages on Cuba’s communist government.

The Hill further reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials on the island last week and warned that the window for talks would not remain open indefinitely. (ANI)