WASHINGTON — Iran has reportedly armed Cuba with a fleet of 300 kamikaze drones, putting the US mainland at risk of suffering a devastating attack, Jeb Bush warned Wednesday.
Shahed drones, which have a range of up to 1,500 miles and can be packed with up to 110 pounds of explosives, gave the US headaches in the Middle East during the war in Iran because they are somewhat cheap to make, but are used for potent attacks. Florida is just about 90 miles from Cuba — well within the range for any drone attack from Cuba.
“Iran has been a consistent threat to the united security interests of our country, certainly of Israel,” Bush said during a United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) event. “And now, we see that it’s not just Israel and the United States, but the Gulf region as well.
“I also want to point out that the press reports that there are 300 of these [Shahed drones] in Cuba.”
Iran had supplied those types of drones to Russia during the bloody war in Ukraine, which has since developed strong countermeasures.
The one-way drones are believed to have also been sent to Cuba before the war in Iran earlier this year, Fox News reported.
Bush acknowledged that the US has “very good defense capabilities” to counter Iranian drones, but cautioned that when they attack in clusters, they can penetrate sophisticated defense systems.
The former Florida governor described the weapon as one of the deadliest battlefield threats faced by US forces in recent years.
“Most loss of life of the US military than any single weapon that exists over the last 15 years,” Bush said of the Iranian-made drones, in an interview with NBC Miami.
Other Floridians, including Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), joined Bush in the UANI event to similarly underscore the threat, saying Cuba has drones from Iran that can reach Florida “in a matter of minutes.”
“This is the face of warfare,” Gimenez emphasized, noting how artificial intelligence is enhancing the threat. “This is how war is going to be carried out in the future, and it’s being carried out right now.”
The congressman further warned that Cuba’s fleet of Shahed’s, which can reach speeds of up to 115 miles per hour, put the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay and cities throughout the southeastern US, including Atlanta, within range of attack.
“This particular model, there is about over 100 pounds of explosives,” Gimenez told NBC Miami. “That’s a pretty big bang. That’s why they call them kamikaze drones — they crash into their target and they explode.”
The Department of War has placed an emphasis on boosting American drone manufacturing capabilities. Trump recently suggested he was open to cutting a drone deal with Ukraine.
The warning comes amid a period of unprecedented turmoil on the communist island.
Trump imposed an oil blockade on Cuba earlier this year, sparking an energy crisis within the island nation. Since then, Cuba has liberalized its communist economy by privatizing state-run companies and opened up the banking and energy sector to foreign investment.
The regime has also been hit with protests and internal strife over the energy crisis. On Monday, for example, Cuba endured a nationwide power blackout, its third major one of the year.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel vowed “impregnable resistance” against the US as Trump carries out his “maximum pressure” campaign.
Trump has demanded that Cuba “make a deal before it’s too late” and has sought deep reforms.
At the event, Bush also commended Trump, his former rival, for debilitating Iran and diminishing its ability to stoke mayhem in the region.
“I also want to applaud President Trump’s efforts,” Bush, who chairs UANI, said. “We have decimated Iran’s capability to make mischief in the region. There’s no doubt about it.”
“Their military has not been decapitated completely, but 80% of its capabilities in terms of building these devices and building other missiles, and their navy has been wiped out, and I applaud the Trump administration for the work that they’ve done,” he added.
