The U.S. Army Reserve is looking into whether it can supply military police, medical teams and other support units to U.S. Southern Command within the next four months in an apparent buildup to military action in Cuba, according to a new report.
An internal Army message reviewed by CBS News doesn't mention Cuba by name, and nothing in it shows that any units have received deployment orders, but several U.S. officials, speaking anonymously because they weren't authorized to comment, told the network the planning is focused on the island.
The message, written last week, asks Army Reserve commands to report whether six types of units are available. It says they may be "needed in 90-120 days," which points to action as early as late December. Commands had until Sept. 25 to respond.
The requested units include a combat sustainment support battalion and an engineer battalion. The list also includes an expeditionary sustainment command to run logistics across a theater of operations. It adds a medical brigade, a forward surgical team for trauma care near the front lines, and a military police brigade, a type of unit that typically handles security and detention.
The Army Reserve did not respond to CBS News, and a Southern Command spokesperson declined to discuss "potential deployment timelines." The spokesperson said the command "continuously coordinates with the Joint Force to assess a range of potential requirements."
The request adds to a series of signs pointing toward Cuba. U.S. military personnel told CBS that American forces surveyed the seafloor and sea approaches around the island earlier this year. U.S. air units were also placed on heightened readiness at the time, but those plans were not carried out.
In July, CBS reported that Pentagon planners had considered options including an air assault by thousands of 101st Airborne Division soldiers. Officials stressed then that no decision had been made.
The planning comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on Havana. This week it imposed new sanctions on Cuban military enterprises tied to the island's nickel industry. At the United Nations, President Donald Trump predicted Cuba's communist government "will fall" and said Secretary of State Marco Rubio was "deep into negotiations" with Havana. The Cuban delegation walked out during his speech.
Trump has spoken openly about his ambitions for Cuba for months. In March, he said he expected to have "the honor of taking Cuba."
"Whether I free it, take it — I think I could do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth," Trump said at the time. Later that month, he declared, "Cuba's going to be next."
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has promised to resist any U.S. attack.