CUBA + IRAN + RUSSIA=Potential Drone Warfare Just 90 Miles From Florida

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: CUBA + IRAN + RUSSIA = Potential Drone Warfare Just 90 Miles From Florida
Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Ben Ferguson (Premiere Networks)

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Episode Overview

In this compelling episode, Ben Ferguson spotlights escalating military cooperation between Cuba, Iran, and Russia—focusing on the alarming possibility of hostile drone deployments just 90 miles from Florida. He examines the historic echoes, current intelligence, and strategic risks of a burgeoning drone threat in America's backyard. Drawing parallels to the Cold War, Ben emphasizes the vulnerabilities these alliances expose, the role of evolving technologies, and the urgent need for increased homeland defense and border security.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Shifting Threats in the Western Hemisphere

Timestamps: 06:06–08:40

• Old Threats, New Methods:
  Ben opens by noting that while most Americans believe post-Soviet Cuba poses no danger, recent intelligence suggests otherwise:

  “You may have thought the Cold War was over… but Cuba is once again becoming a staging ground for America’s adversaries. And this time, the concern is not Soviet nuclear missiles. It’s drones. A lot of them. Iranian and Russian drones.” — Ben Ferguson (06:11)

• The potential for “hundreds of drones stored in warehouses…or assembled in covert facilities” just miles from U.S. soil dramatically raises the stakes for homeland security.

2. Drones as the New Face of Warfare

Timestamps: 08:41–10:30

• Technological Shift:
  Modern drones—primarily Iranian and Russian—are cheaper, smaller, and far harder to track than past weapons. Ferguson highlights their battlefield effectiveness from Ukraine to the Middle East:

  “Iranian drones, for example, have been used extensively by the Russians in Ukraine. That’s how good they are.” — Ben Ferguson (09:12)

• Operational Flexibility:
  Drones can be launched “from trucks, cargo ships, or fields,” making detection and pre-emption extraordinarily difficult. The nightmare scenario:

  “A coordinated swarm attack… could create chaos for Americans. It could also attack our power grid.” — Ben Ferguson (09:57)

3. Cuba’s Deepening Ties with Russia, Iran, and China

Timestamps: 10:31–12:20

• Joint Military Activities:
  Ferguson details Cuba’s “dramatically deepened” cooperation with both Moscow and Tehran, including repeated Russian naval visits and signed intelligence and military agreements.

• Wider Regional Influence:
  Iran’s active networks in Venezuela and Nicaragua are flagged as additional regional threats, with Hezbollah-linked operatives facilitating illicit logistics across Latin America.

4. U.S. Vulnerabilities: Borders, Infrastructure, Gray Zone Warfare

Timestamps: 12:21–14:13

• Border Weakness:
  Ben links the current border crisis to national security, warning that a porous southern border could allow adversaries to move “equipment, operatives, electronics, or drone components into the United States.”

• Gray Zone Tactics:
  Modern warfare isn’t strictly kinetic; it includes cyberattacks, sabotage, GPS jamming, and disinformation—all methods used to “stay below the threshold of open war while still damaging an enemy.”

• Quote:

  “America’s enemies know they cannot defeat the U.S. military head-to-head. So they look for ways to exploit our vulnerabilities, create fear, disrupt our economy, and undermine public confidence. And drones fit that strategy perfectly.” — Ben Ferguson (13:07)

5. Historic Parallels and Urgent Warnings

Timestamps: 14:14–15:30

• History Repeats:
  Ferguson draws direct lines to past ignored threats—Pearl Harbor, 9/11, the original Cuban Missile Crisis—urging listeners not to be complacent:

  “Before the Cuban missile crisis exploded into public view, Soviet activity was already well underway. Major threats are often ignored until it’s too late.” — Ben Ferguson (14:43)

• Rapid Escalation Potential:
  Drone swarms from Cuba could give U.S. leaders only “minutes to react.” The speed of modern warfare magnifies the threat.

6. Policy Responses: The Need for Action

Timestamps: 15:31–16:43

• Defense Investments:
  The host calls for “stronger homeland defense systems… specifically focused on drone threats,” reflecting both expert and presidential consensus.

• Public Vigilance:
  He cautions:

  “We shouldn’t panic, but we should absolutely pay attention.” — Ben Ferguson (16:10)

• Preemptive Debate:
  Finally, Ferguson floats the sensitive but critical question:

  “If there is a large stockpile of drones in Cuba, is it America’s job to make sure that we make those inoperable? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s on the table right now.” — Ben Ferguson (16:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On New Warfare:
  “The next threat may not come from bombers or missiles, but from swarms of inexpensive unmanned aircraft—launched very close to home.” — Ben Ferguson (13:50)

• On Overlooked Vulnerabilities:
  “Many American military bases are still vulnerable to low flying drones. Ports and civilian infrastructure often lack sophisticated counter drone systems.” — Ben Ferguson (14:21)

• On Urgency:
  “This is clearly an important moment that should be on everyone’s radar screen.” — Ben Ferguson (16:40)

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Episode Structure & Timestamps

• 03:20 — Ben Ferguson kicks off with the main topic
• 06:07 — Breakdown of Cuba’s suspected drone buildup and alliances
• 09:12 — The capabilities and danger of Iranian drones in Russia/Ukraine
• 12:21 — Border crisis as a national security vulnerability
• 13:07 — Gray zone warfare explained
• 14:43 — Historic warnings about ignored threats
• 15:31 — Calls for enhanced homeland defense and preemptive policy considerations
• 16:43 — Episode wrap-up and call to vigilance

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Takeaway

Ben Ferguson’s deep-dive episode is a pressing warning: Military, technological, and geopolitical shifts may have placed a direct, complex threat just off America’s shores. The drumbeat for proactive defense, intelligence, and border policy rings throughout, urging both policymakers and the public to recognize and prepare for a new era of drone-enabled conflict.

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Transcript

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[Ben Ferguson]

you're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

Good Tuesday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. You may have thought the Cold War was over when it deals with Cuba, but when it comes to the Western Hemisphere, we may be all wrong. In fact, there's now major concerns in Cuba of a massive buildup of drones from Iran and even Russia. So what could they do with these drones and could they be used to attack the United States of America? There's a lot on this issue and I'm going to give it all to you. But first, let me tell you real quick about Patriot Mobile, a company that is fighting for what we believe believe in. And you switching your cell phone provider could have a major impact on helping conservatives fight like never before.

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[Ben Ferguson]

Today it's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now.

Story number one.

I want to start out by talking about what is happening in Cuba. We know that the CIA director John Radcliffe went down to Cuba and met with top leaders, including some of those connected directly with the Castro family leadership ship. And for decades, Americans have also been told the Cold War is over, that the threats sitting just 90 miles off the coast of Florida were relics of another era. Not now. Right? That was back in the day. Well, there's growing real concern now inside the intelligence and military circles that Cuba is once again becoming a staging ground for America's adversaries. And this time the concern is not Soviet nuclear missiles. It's drones, a lot of them. Iranian drones and Russian drones. And the possibility that hostile regimes are quietly building a launch platform with striking distance of the United states of America. 90 miles for a drone is nothing. And let's be clear, they can also fly very low. You could describe it as under the radar. Now, there's no clear public evidence that Cuba has launched any attacks on the United States of America or that an imminent strike is about to happen or even underway. But what is raising alarm bells is the increasing military cooperation that we have seen between Cuba, Iran and Russia and even China. Now you think about the three countries that hate the United States the most. Iran. Chance. Death to America. Russia, we know, hates America. And China. Yes, they hate America. America, all of these nations openly talk about their hostility to American power and American influence. And if you think this sounds far fetched, remember history. Back in 1962, you basically had the same type of leadership in Cuba. And the Cuban Missile Crisis brought America literally to the brink of nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States of America because Soviet weapons were placed on that island. Today, the weapons are much smaller, they're a lot cheaper, and they're harder to detect and they're even easier to get into a country. Modern drones have changed warfare entirely. We've witnessed this on the battlefield in the Middle east and Especially between Ukraine and the Russia war, Iran has become one of the world's leading exporters of expensive but deadly drone technology. The Iranian drones, for example, have been used extensively by the Russians in Ukraine. They're. That's how good they are. And these drones are relatively cheap to produce. They're difficult to intercept in large swarms, and they're capable of carrying large explosives over long distances. Russia has used them to terrorize civilian infrastructure, to attack power grids and overwhelm the air defenses in Ukraine. Now imagine that type of technology position in Cuba. Imagine dozens or hundreds and hundreds of drones stored in warehouses, hidden in shipping containers, or assembled in covert facilities just miles from the United States of America's homeland. Suddenly, this changes everything from a military standpoint. Now, experts warn that drones don't need massive runways or obvious missile silos. They can be launched from trucks, they can be launched from fields, they can be launched from cargo ships or improvised sites that you never detected beforehand. And a coordinated swarm attack targets ports. It can target military bases. It can target our fuel depots, our airports, or even civilian infrastructure. That could create chaos for Americans. It could also attack our power grid. And that's exactly why intelligence officials in the U. S. Are increasingly focused on this type of warfare. America's enemies know they cannot defeat the U. S. Military head to head. So instead, what they've all decided to do is look for ways to exploit our vulnerabilities, create fear, disrupt our economy, and undermine public confidence. And drones fit that strategy perfectly. Now, over the past several years, Cuba has dramatically deepened its ties not only with Russia. There's also another very interesting data point. Over the last several years, Cuba has dramatically deepened their ties with Moscow and Tehran. Russian naval vessels have visited Cuba ports multiple times. Cuban officials have met openly with Iranian leadership. Economic agreements have been agreed to and signed. They've even signed intelligence cooperation, and they've signed military coordination. That have all expanded as these countries align themselves against the United States of America. Now, Iran, meanwhile, has aggressively expanded its influence throughout Latin America. U.S. officials have repeatedly and openly warned that Iranian networks have been operating in Venezuela, they're operating in Nicaragua and other parts of the region. Hezbollah linked operatives have reportedly used parts of Latin America for fundraising as well as logistics and illicit finance operations for decades. Add drone technology into this equation and suddenly the western hemisphere starts looking a lot more dangerous. And that brings us to Donald Trump's whole promise to make sure that the western hemisphere is safe. And there's another layer, by the way, to this story that you need to Understand as well, that's the border crisis. For years, critics have warned that an unsecured southern border creates vulnerabilities far beyond illegal immigration. If hostile foreign actors wanted to move equipment, operatives, electronics or drone components into the United States of America, an overwhelmed border system provided that opportunity. You now combine those concerns of millions of people who we don't know who they are that are in this country right now. With adversarial regimes operating close to U. S. Mainland, who could even stage an attack that is coordinated from people within the United States of America, Imagine what that could look like. Military analysts have increasingly warned about what's known as gray zone warfare. That's actions deliberately designed to stay below the threshold of open war while still damaging an enemy. Cyber attacks, infrastructure sabotage, drone incursions, GPS interference, disinformation campaigns, as well as economic disruption, all on the table. In fact, many of them have been used on the United States of America by China and Russia. Now this is what has been described to me as the battlefield of the future. And America's enemies are watching this carefully. Russia has already demonstrated how effective drone warfare can be in Ukraine. They've actually really learned a lot and mastered the art. Iran has shown how proxy groups armed with drones can threaten US Troops and allies across the middle East. China is also rapidly expanding its own drone and AI warfare capabilities. The terrifying reality is that a drone doesn't need to carry a massive explosive payload to cause major disruption. A strike on an electrical substation, fuel pipeline, shipping port or crowded transportation hub could create panic as well as economic shockwaves. Which is exactly what Cuba, Russia and China and Iran would love to happen. So think about what happens when small drones disrupt airports in Europe. Several years ago, all the flights were grounded. The security systems were overwhelmed. Now you do that type of coordinated attack using military grade systems and it's on a whole nother level now. This is why national security experts are now increasingly calling for stronger homeland defense systems specifically focused on drone threats. It's something the president has also agreed we need. Many American military bases are still vulnerable to low flying drones. Ports and civilian infrastructure often lack sophisticated counter drone systems. And local law enforcement agencies are largely unprepared for mass drone instances as well. Now, the Pentagon has spent billions preparing for traditional warfare. But the next threat may not come from bombers or missiles, but from swarms of inexpensive unmanned aircraft. Launch very close to home. And Cuba's geographic position matters enormously. From Havana to Key west, it's roughly 90 miles. That's it. A relatively short flight for modern drone systems. Again, this is all about looking at what could happen before it happens. Because history teaches us something important. Major threats are often ignored until it's too late. Before 9, 11 warnings existed. Before Pearl harbor, there were warning signs as well. Before the Cuban missile crisis exploded into public view, Soviet activity was already well underway. And in the modern era, the speed of warfare has accelerated dramatically. A drone swarm launch from close proximity could give decision makers only minutes to react. And that is why the American public should be aware of this. We shouldn't panic, but we should absolutely pay attention. The growing military cooperation between Cuba, Iran and Russia and the present clearly is demanding stronger border security, serious homeland security defense investments, and aggressive intelligence monitoring. Now, the real question is, if there is a large stockpile of drones in Cuba, is it America's job to make sure that we make those inoperable? I wouldn't be surprised if that's on the table right now. And it's something we should all be taking a look at and make sure we understand. This is clearly an important moment that should be on everyone's radar screen.

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.

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