American military reconnaissance flights are increasing off the coast of Cuba, according to a CNN analysis based on publicly available aeronautical data.

Since February 4, the U.S. Navy and Air Force have conducted at least 25 such flights, most of them near the country's two largest cities, Havana and Santiago de Cuba, according to FlightRadar24.

The majority of the flights were carried out by P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, designed for surveillance and reconnaissance, while some were performed by an RC-135V Rivet Joint, specialized in gathering intelligence through signals analysis. Several MQ-4C Triton high-altitude reconnaissance drones were also used.

US President Donald Trump, who in recent days declared, "I will take the island almost immediately," recently imposed further sanctions on Cuba after ordering the island's oil blockade. Similar patterns, in which the Trump administration's escalating rhetoric coincided with increased surveillance flights, occurred in the run-up to US military operations in Venezuela and Iran, CNN notes.

(Unioneonline)

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