USS Nimitz Deployment to Caribbean Comes as Cuba Tensions Surge

Newsmax Wires

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group have arrived in the Caribbean this week as tensions with Cuba escalate and President Trump has raised the prospect of potential military action against the island, according to initial reporting by The Hill.

The Nimitz-class carrier is operating alongside its air wing — including F/A-18E Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and C-2A Greyhounds — as well as the USS Gridley, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and the USNS Patuxent, a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler, according to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region.

“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 on X.

The Nimitz, commissioned in 1975, had been conducting joint exercises with the Brazilian Navy off Rio de Janeiro last week, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil said.

Trump told reporters Wednesday that Cuba is “on our mind,” following a Justice Department indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro on murder-related charges tied to the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft over international waters that killed four people.

How Brothers to the Rescue, an exile group that helped thousands flee Cuba, led to Raúl Castro’s indictment 

Chris Nesi / NEW YORK POST 

A Florida-based group of Cuban exiles that rescued people fleeing the repressive rule of Fidel Castro’s communist regime in the 1990s sowed seeds that led to the federal indictment of his brother, Raúl, more than three decades later.

Brothers to the Rescue, an organization founded by Cuban-American dissident José Basulto, organized search-and-rescue flights looking for makeshift rafts between Florida and Cuba belonging to those attempting to escape the island, a daring endeavor that helped thousands make it to the US.

In February 1996, two of the group’s civilian aircraft were shot down by a Cuban fighter jet over international waters shortly after departing an airport near Miami, killing four members including three US citizens and a green card holder.

A third aircraft, piloted by Basulto, was able to escape the assault. He recalled in a recent interview that he saw smoke to his right after the Cuban fighter jets attacked.

Just a Thought

Putin visits China after Trump as Moscow seeks to shore up ties - analysis

Putin's visit to China seems calculated on Moscow's part, as he obviously doesn’t want his Chinese partner to drift toward America. 

Seth J. Frant6zman / JERUSALEM POST

Less than a week after US President Donald Trump traveled to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin also arrived in China for a diplomatic visit. 

This seems calculated on Putin’s part: he doesn’t want his Chinese partner to drift toward America. 

Notably, there is a lot of history here. In 1972, US President Richard Nixon visited China, a major symbol of the US making inroads as Beijing pursued policies different from Moscow's.

A lot has changed since Nixon went to China. China did appear to be closer to the US orbit for decades, but that began to change in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Russia also underwent changes: the collapse of the Soviet Union led Moscow to shift policies in the 1990s, but it shifted back towards greater hostility to the US in the 2010s. 

Putin seeks to keep China close after Trump visit

The last few decades have seen increasingly negative relations between the US, China, and Russia. China is concerned that this could lead to an inevitable clash. For Moscow, the clash is already happening in Ukraine.

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...Podcast 

Here's the podcast of last nights LIVE radio broadcast where RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig and Diane discussed 'Election 2026 and 2028...Compare and Contrast'; 'Operation Let Them Talk'; and the latest updates regarding Iran. Listen to it on https://rspradio1.podbean.com or on our RSP website at https://rspradio1.com/?page_id=39 

Op-ed:

Elections 2026 and 2028...Compare and Contrast

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor

This article is the authors opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google.  

 

...And the word “change” itself leads directly into the 2028 presidential scenario for some semblance of “change” will already have come courtesy of 2026's mid-term election results, whether the results be for better or worse depending on one's party affiliation. But no matter the scenario other facts simply cannot be ignored.

Fact Three: the MAGA concept will still drive the discourse in 2028, but with an unexpected twist in that the one deemed by most to be Trump's presidential heir apparent...meaning Vice President JD Vance...might not be that heir after all. Why so...because (I believe) two better candidates have already been spoken about in Republican political circles, as in Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, and our current “Secretary of State” Marco Rubio.

And why are they better candidates...because while Vance is a good, decent, and honorable man who proudly served in our nation's military, many believe, as do I, that he has not shown himself to be presidential material. Basically a newbie to the Republican party, JD Vance only switched parties and became a Republican when he first announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in July...Read entire article here.

President Trump Just Made a Major Announcement About Iran

Dmitri Bolt / Townhall Tipsheet 

President Trump has announced that a planned attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran, reportedly scheduled for Tuesday, will be postponed, as leaders from several Gulf states have said the current negotiations with Iran are “serious” and could lead to a legitimate deal that brings peace to the Middle East.

"I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond," the president wrote on Truth Social.