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War & Peace
'This Is Insane': Alarm Bells Follow New Report of Looming US Plan to Attack Cuba
"Trump is preparing to take the US into another illegal war against Cuba," warned one progressive critic of the US president. "We must stop him. It’s not too late."
Apr 15, 2026
Is Cuba next in line for a US attack?
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said it could be, and USA Today on Wednesday cited "sources familiar" with the matter who said that the Pentagon is "quietly ramping up" preparations to wage war on the socialist nation if Trump gives the order.
On Monday, Trump flippantly declared that “we may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this," referring to the illegal US-Israeli war of choice on Iran that's left thousands of Iranians dead or wounded, including hundreds of children.
Trump has also said that he believes he’ll “be having the honor of taking Cuba,” language echoing the 19th century US imperialists who conquered the island along with Puerto Rico and the Philippines from Spain in another war waged on dubious pretense.
"Whether I free it, take it—I think I can do anything I want," Trump said of the island and its 11 million inhabitants.
The USA Today report—authored by Kim Hjelmgaard, Rick Jervis, and Francesca Chambers—sparked widespread alarm among advocates for peace.
"This is not a drill. Trump is preparing to take the US into another illegal war against Cuba to appease the Miami mafia," Progressive International co-general coordinator David Adler said Wednesday on X. "We must stop him. It’s not too late."
Cubans—who have been subjected to generations of privation and hardship due largely to the internationally condemned US economic embargo of their island—have mostly shrugged off Trump's threats, with some observers noting that Cuba's socialist era has outlasted a dozen American presidents.
Responding to a question about a possible US attack on his country, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that “if that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live’.”
Numerous observers expressed shock, but not surprise, that Trump—the self-proclaimed "peace president" who has bombed 10 countries, more than any other US president—is setting his sights on Cuba, which American presidents since Thomas Jefferson have coveted.
Trump has been threatening Cuba since his first administration, when he systematically rolled back the Obama administration's diplomatic normalization with the island's socialist government. He also activated a provision of the Helms-Burton Act allowing lawsuits over property confiscated after the Cuban Revolution.
On the last day of his first term, Trump re-designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, a move critics slammed as absurd given that Cuba has never carried out any acts of terrorism—unlike the United States and the militant Cuban exiles it harbors, who have a decadeslong record of terrorist bombings and other attacks, as well as numerous failed or aborted attempts to assassinate former revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
Since returning to office, Trump has ratcheted up military threats and economic pressure on Cuba, which was already reeling from decades of US sanctions and the inefficiencies of centralized state control. Trump tightened the embargo by severely restricting fuel imports, exacerbating an energy emergency characterized by blackouts and deadly suffering among the most vulnerable Cubans, including sick people and children.
Last month, US Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced a war powers resolution aimed at preventing Trump from attacking Cuba without congressional authorization as required by law. Numerous war powers resolutions related to Iran, Venezuela, and Trump's extralegal high-seas boat bombings have failed to pass.
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'Jesus Christ Doesn't Support Genocide': Vance Heckled at Turning Point USA Event
Audience members also booed the vice president, who claimed the Trump administration "solved" Israel's war on Gaza.
Apr 15, 2026
US Vice President JD Vance was repeatedly heckled over the Trump administration's support Israel's genocide in Gaza and the US-Israeli war on Iran as he spoke at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, underscoring frustration among a MAGA base betrayed by promises of a peace presidency.
Vance was discussing his disagreement with Pope Leo XIV's criticism of the Trump administration's xenophobic immigration policies and record-breaking warmongering when someone in the audience at the Akins Ford Arena near the University of Georgia in Athens yelled out, "Jesus Christ doesn't support genocide!"
"I agree," said Vance. "Jesus Christ certainly does not support genocide, whoever yelled that out from the dark. He certainly does not. I think that's pretty easy."
Some audience members booed Vance's response, and the heckler shouted, "You're killing children!"
U.S. Vice President JD Vance faced hecklers during a speech at a Turning Point USA event, where he said Pope Leo should "be careful when he talks about matters of theology."
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— Reuters (@reuters.com) April 14, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Hundreds of children have been killed by US-Israeli bombing of Iran, including 168 students and staff at a girls' school in Minab who were massacred in a February 28 US cruise missile strike. More than 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed by Israel's war and siege on Gaza, according to local officials and international advocacy groups.
While Jesus never supported genocide in the New Testament of the Bible, his purported father commands his followers to commit genocide several times in the Old Testament. Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes—have invoked God's biblical command to "slay" everyone in the Hebrews' ancient enemy of Amalek, "man and woman, infant and suckling," as divine sanction to lay waste to Gaza.
Attorneys in the South Africa-led International Court of Justice case against Israel have pointed to Israeli leaders' references to Amalek as evidence of genocidal intent, a key legal requisite for proving genocide.
Vance responded to the heckler, asserting that when President Donald Trump took office, "the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe."
"So if you want to complain about what happened in Gaza," he continued, "why don't you complain about Joe Biden in the last administration? We're the administration that solved that problem."
On January 20, 2025, former President Joe Biden's last day in office, the Gaza Health Ministry said at least 47,035 people had been killed by Israeli forces in the coastal strip since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Since Trump's return to power, Israeli forces have killed at least 25,280 more Palestinians in Gaza.
The Biden and Trump administrations have both supported Israel with tens of billions of dollars in armed aid, diplomatic cover including vetoes of numerous United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolutions, and repeated denials that the leading US ally in the Middle East is committing genocide.
While there is growing unease among many in the MAGA base over Trump's broken promises of no new wars and lower gasoline prices on "day one," critics note that this opposition does not indicate a full anti-war shift, as many of the president's supporters just want the war to end as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Turning Point USA was co-founded by far-right firebrand Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead last year while trying to deflect blame for US gun violence on gangs. Kirk explicitly opposed any US regime change war in Iran.
In a bid to counter Gen Z's rightward shift during the 2024 election, progressive activist Elise Joshi on Wednesday launched More Perfect University, which aims to mobilize young voters by focusing on the economic issues that affect them.
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Amnesty Urges Halt to EU-Israel Trade Agreement After Italy Suspends Defense Deal
"Now we need consistency," said a group spokesperson. "The Italian government must support the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement—a demand backed by over 1 million European citizens."
Apr 15, 2026
Amnesty International on Wednesday welcomed the Italian government's suspension of a military cooperation agreement with Israel over its recent attacks on Lebanon and urged Italy to back similar action on a European Union deal.
"Israel continues to act in defiance of international law and human rights: The genocide in the Gaza Strip is ongoing, the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank proceeds alongside an unprecedented escalation of violence, and attacks and mass displacement in Lebanon continue," said Riccardo Noury, a spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, in a statement.
"Any military cooperation between the Italian government and Israel risks making Italy complicit in violations of international humanitarian law and crimes under international law," the spokesperson warned. Israel faces an International Court of Justice case over the Gaza genocide, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Noury declared that "now we need consistency. The Italian government must support the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement—a demand backed by over 1 million European citizens who have signed the European Citizens' Initiative in just three months."
Earlier this month, Amnesty and 30 other organizations jointly called for that action from the bloc over "the Israeli Knesset's decision to approve a bill that makes death penalty effectively mandatory in the West Bank and which will de facto apply exclusively to Palestinians."
"The European Union must uphold its stated principles and legal obligations by finally suspending, as a minimum immediate measure, the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and adopting other measures," the coalition argued.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez—who has stood up against the US-Israeli war on Iran—notably called for suspending the EU deal last week, as "Netanyahu launches his harshest attack against Lebanon since the offensive began."
Noury said Wednesday that "the time has come for states to move beyond mere expressions of regret or dismay. They must take decisive action to pressure Israel to end its genocide in Gaza and the systematic violation of human rights across the occupied Palestinian territory and neighboring countries."
As Common Dreams reported, Italy's right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, announced the suspension of the bilateral deal amid mounting public pressure, with polls showing that large majorities of Italians believe Israeli forces' actions in Gaza constitute genocide and want their country to cut ties with Israel.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza last October, two years after launching a devastating assault over a Hamas-led attack, but Israeli forces have continued to slaughter Palestinians there and restrict the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory.
Nearly a year before the Gaza agreement, Israel had reached a ceasefire deal with Lebanon—home to the political and militant group Hezbollah, which supported Palestinians under assault by Israeli forces. However, after the US and Israel launched an illegal war on Iran in February, Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon.
Despite an ongoing two-week ceasefire agreed to by the United States, Israel, and Iran, Israeli forces have intensified their assault on Lebanon, leading critics to suggest that the Netanyahu government is "acting to undermine a diplomatic process over which it had lost influence" and "blow up" the fragile agreement—which negotiators stress includes Lebanon.
After Israeli airstrikes killed or wounded more than 1,400 people in Lebanon—many of them civilians—last Wednesday, Amnesty International's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, reiterated the urgent need for "Israel to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law and ensure civilians are protected."
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful attacks in Lebanon and displaying a callous disregard for civilian life, fueled by the impunity Israeli officials feel they enjoy," Morayef said. "These attacks are a reminder that states must immediately halt the transfer of arms and weapons to Israel, given the overriding risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law."
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Iran Confirms at Least 60 University Students and 10 Professors Killed by US-Israel Bombings
"The enemy does not want us to succeed or have development and progress, but all our universities are united now by these attacks," said the president of Tehran's prestigious Sharif University of Technology.
Apr 15, 2026
At least 60 students and 10 professors have been killed in US-Israeli attacks on universities, according to an Iranian government official, while other university officials report even higher death tolls.
Standing outside the bombed-out ruins of Iran's Aerospace Research Institute, which was targeted twice earlier this month, Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, Hossein Simaei, said on Wednesday that attacks on the facility and other universities were “scientific crimes."
“This was a center where researchers worked on civilian sectors, including biology, agriculture, and surveying,” Simaei said. “Unfortunately, it has fallen victim to the enemy’s brutal attacks.”
The institute was one of at least 32 universities and 857 schools that have been attacked by US and Israeli forces since the US and Israel launched the war at the end of February, according to a report by the Iranian Red Crescent on April 10.
Bijan Ranjbar, the president of the Islamic Azad University system—one of the largest in the world—has confirmed that at least 110 students at his institution have been killed and 21 university branches have been damaged.
On April 6, the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, which has been described as the "MIT of Iran," was also bombed, severely damaging its High-Performance Computing Center, which serves more than 3,000 artificial intelligence and computer science researchers.
The Pasteur Institute, one of the oldest research and health institutes in Iran, was also hit earlier this month, rendering it "unable to continue delivering health services," according to the World Health Organization.
"The enemy does not want us to succeed or have development and progress, but all our universities are united now by these attacks," said Sharif University president Masoud Tajrishi.
Israel has justified attacking these institutions on the grounds that they are closely linked to the Iranian military, similar to its claim that universities in Gaza are used by Hamas.
But following promises by US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to bomb Iran "back to the Stone Ages," attacks on civilian infrastructure have gone far beyond those with any discernible military purpose.
The WHO reported on April 8 that since the beginning of the war, at least 23 healthcare institutions were attacked by US and Israeli forces. Attacks have also been reported on several oil and energy facilities.
Though the US and Israel often frame these attacks as inseparable from their objective of weakening Iran militarily, Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, an assistant professor of the international relations of the Middle East at the University of St. Andrews, argues that they function as attacks on the whole of Iranian society.
"Whatever role the state played in constructing refineries, pharmaceutical plants, and research institutions, it is Iranian workers, engineers, scientists, and patients who depend on them, who built their careers inside them, and who will suffer most from their destruction," he wrote in Jacobin earlier this week. "Bombing a country’s industrial and scientific base is an act of violence against its people, regardless of what one thinks of its government."
He said: “The systematic killing of scientists and engineers, the destruction of centrifuges and computer networks, the bombing of research universities and pharmaceutical facilities: All of it reflects a coherent strategic objective, which is to erase the embodied knowledge, the accumulated expertise, and the institutional memory that make Iranian technological development possible.”
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