BREAKING: Outer Mole Fight Takes On New Context After Cuba Drone Report
Axios reporter Marc Caputo details growing U.S. concerns over Cuba, Iranian military advisers and possible drone warfare planning involving Key West as the Navy moves to reclaim the Outer Mole.
KEY WEST, Fla. — The fight over the Outer Mole Pier has mostly been treated as a local political war: cruise ships, leases, campaign rhetoric and City Hall drama.
A few people felt Cuba might be a rationale, and I mentioned the possibilities of drones playing an issue if the US were to take action against our neighbors to the south in my editorial this morning.
But didn’t think that was a very realistic scenario. However, I did point out that threat being more plausible than the Navy staging vessels in Key West Harbor due to the self-contained nature of modern surface warfare.
But a new report from veteran political journalist and friend Marc Caputo adds a far more serious backdrop to the conversation.
In an exclusive report published Sunday by Axios, Caputo detailed growing concerns inside the Trump administration over Cuba’s expanding drone capabilities and increasing military coordination with Russia and Iran. According to the report, U.S. intelligence officials believe Cuba has acquired hundreds of military drones and has discussed potential drone warfare scenarios involving American targets, including Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and even Key West.
Caputo’s reporting also details U.S. concerns that Iranian military advisers are now operating on the ground in Havana, helping Cuba develop drone warfare strategy and military coordination capabilities just 90 miles from the Florida coast.
Russia has had military advisors on the ground for nearly 70 years and the Chinese influence cannot be overlooked, either.
The report further notes the Justice Department is expected to unseal an indictment against 94-year-old Raúl Castro tied to the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown. Castro was also the head of Cuba’s concerted drug smuggling efforts over the years.
If that indictment occurs, the political temperature between Washington and Havana could spike fast.
And if relations deteriorate further, all bets are off for the fantasy version of Key West politics where the biggest concerns are cruise ship schedules, powerboat races and tourism talking points.
Because beneath the t-shirt-and-cocktail economy, Key West remains what it has always been since the Civil War: a strategic military outpost sitting at the mouth of the Florida Straits.
That reality matters when discussing the Navy’s sudden push to reclaim control of the Outer Mole. What has publicly looked like a lease dispute may also reflect a broader shift in how federal officials are viewing security, infrastructure and military readiness in the region.
Click on the image below to read the exclusive report:
