NEWS ALERT: Russian military plane lands in Cuba as Trump declares national emergency

February 2, 2026

From Fox News: A Russian cargo plane typically used to transfer military equipment landed at a military airfield in Havana Sunday night, echoing flight patterns seen ahead of the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

The U.S.-sanctioned Ilyushin Il-76, operated by Russian state-linked airline Aviacon Zitotrans, was tracked landing at San Antonio de los Baños Airfield, a Cuban military installation roughly 30 miles south of Havana, according to public flight data.

Flight-tracking records show the aircraft stopped in St. Petersburg and Sochi in Russia; Mauritania, Africa; and the Dominican Republic. Each landing would have required approval from host governments, offering a window into which countries are continuing to permit Russian military-linked aviation activity despite Western sanctions.

The same aircraft conducted flights to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba in late October 2025, as tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated. That movement preceded U.S. military action in Venezuela that ultimately ended Maduro’s rule — a sequence U.S. officials and analysts have since pointed to as a warning indicator when evaluating similar Russian aviation activity in the region.

On Thursday, January 29, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a “national emergency” over Cuba, and said he will impose additional tariffs on any countries supplying Cuba with oil without permission from the U.S.

READ⬇️https://t.co/BeAAfZIIQg

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 30, 2026

In mid-January, President Trump had posted the following warning to Cuba:

Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years. Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT

However, on Sunday, Trump voiced optimism, saying, “I think we’re going to make a deal with Cuba.”

“Cuba is a failing nation — it has been for a long time, but now it doesn’t have Venezuela to prop it up,” says @POTUS.

“We’ll see what happens… I think we’re going to make a deal with Cuba. It’s in bad shape.” pic.twitter.com/F1xvZI64cL

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 1, 2026