Cuba is on deck and Trump's got the ball and into the wind-up

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made no secret of the fact that Cuba is next. We already removed Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is gone, along with most of his rotten regime. Now the focus shifts to the last stubborn communist holdout in the hemisphere.

Even the aging dinosaurs still clinging to power on that island, long after Fidel shuffled off this mortal coil, are starting to rattle their sabers. Cuba's president felt the need to puff out his chest and declare he's "not afraid" of the United States. He has to say that, of course. It's the party line. But anyone who's visited Cuba knows the place feels like a time capsule frozen in the 1950s, and most ordinary Cubans understand the truth: they would be overwhelmed quickly if it came down to it.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Pentagon had a contingency plan called Operation Ortsac—Castro spelled backward—for a full-scale invasion if things escalated and the Soviet missiles needed to be ripped out by force. It's not officially back on the books, but according to USA Today, military planning is quietly heating up anyway:

"Military planning for a possible Pentagon-led operation in Cuba is quietly ramping up, in case President Donald Trump gives an order to intervene there, USA TODAY has learned."The report cites two sources familiar with the directives who spoke on condition of anonymity. These moves mark an escalation of tensions that kicked off in January when the Trump administration curbed oil shipments to Cuba as part of a deliberate campaign to force sweeping political changes on the communist-run island.

The piece adds that the U.S. and Cuba have acknowledged they're in the early stages of trying to find some off-ramp from the crisis, though it's anyone's guess how much real compromise either side is willing to offer. Back in March, USA Today itself reported the two countries were in discussions that could have led to a "historic economic deal" to thaw relations.

Translation: the old guard in Havana can bluster all they want about dying for the revolution and giving their lives for the cause. Brave words from men who’ve spent decades presiding over poverty, blackouts, and repression while the Cuban people suffer. But after watching Maduro get yanked and Khamenei’s regime crumble, the message from Washington is crystal clear. The era of tolerating these backward communist fossils on America's doorstep is rapidly coming to an end—and the clock is ticking.

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