The Pentagon announced on Thursday that an American nuclear submarine is in Cuba, the day after a Russian nuclear-propelled submarine arrived on the communist island.
The US Southern Command announced on social media: “The nuclear attack submarine USS Helena is in Guantanamo Bay as part of a routine visit,” referring to the US naval base on the island of Cuba.
The visit, as scheduled, was “planned,” according to the same source. On Wednesday, the Kazan nuclear submarine entered Havana Bay with three other Russian ships. None of them carry nuclear weapons, according to Cuban authorities.
This unusual Russian deployment about 150 kilometers from the coast of Florida comes at a very tense stage between Washington and Moscow due to the war in Ukraine, where the US-backed government is fighting Russian forces.
The United States said it was monitoring the development of the situation in Cuba, but said that the deployment of Russian ships did not pose a direct threat.
During the Cold War, Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union. The deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962 sparked a dangerous crisis that almost turned into a war between the United States and the Soviet Union.