FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The FBI said Wednesday that a suspicious package found outside a gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa earlier this week contained “possible energetic materials.”
An analysis of the material has not been completed, the FBI Tampa said in a statement posted on social media Wednesday afternoon. The FBI said the investigation is continuing and provided no further details.
Energetic materials store a large amount of chemical energy, and can include explosive materials, fuel or propellants. The FBI did not respond to an email seeking clarification on what type of material was in the package found Monday outside the MacDill Air Force Base Visitor Center.
Earlier Wednesday, the base went on a shelter-in-place order after a threat was received.
“We take all threats seriously and are taking appropriate measures to prioritize the safety and security of our installation. As a matter of policy, we will not release specifics on what security measures have been implemented,” MacDill officials said in a statement posted on social media.
The order was lifted about two hours later, but the base remains on high alert, officials said.
On Tuesday, the base began operating under Force Protection Charlie, referred to as “FPCON CHARLIE.” This is the second-highest military security level, and allows officials to “implement deliberate security measures proactively.”
The advisory said that all personnel at the base “should remain vigilant, follow the direction of security forces, and report any suspicious activity immediately.”
The U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which is located at MacDill, is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia.
MacDill is one of the U.S. bases that has been on heightened alert since the war in Iran began.
Last week, all six crew members of a KC-135 refueling aircraft died in a crash while supporting operations against Iran. Three of the crew members were connected to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill, officials said.
File - The U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base is seen, Feb. 6, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
HAVANA (AP) — A mix of uncertainty, anger and hope simmered in Cuba on Wednesday following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump this week saying that Washington could take “imminent action” against the island's government.
Trump, whose government has come at its Caribbean adversary more aggressively than any U.S. government in recent history, has effectively cut Cuba off from key oil shipments in an effort to force regime change. The blockade has had devastating effects on the civilians Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say they want to help, leaving many desperate.
Island-wide blackouts have roiled Cubans already grappling with years of crisis, and lack of gasoline and basic resources has crippled hospital and slashed public transport.
Matilde Visoso, a single mother caring for a sick daughter, said she's been left reeling by the island's spiraling crisis, and wants change in the Caribbean nation.
“Cuba is waiting for Trump and Marco Rubio, because we can’t wait any longer. It’s too much — there is a lot of repression, there is a lot of hunger," the 64-year-old homemaker said. “Cuba is in tears.”
Trump has said he can do "whatever he wants" with Cuba. The administration is looking for President Miguel Díaz-Canel to leave as the U.S. continues negotiating with the Cuban government, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of talks between Washington and Havana. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss sensitive talks.
No details have been offered about who the administration might like to see in power.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the Cuban government’s socialist economic model needs to “change dramatically.” While the Cuban government places heavy restrictions on the country’s private sector, decades of U.S. sanctions have crippled Cuba’s economy.
The administration's pressure on Cuba came more than two months after his administration’s military raid that captured then Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, and a few weeks after the launch of joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Díaz-Canel lashed back at Trump's comments late Tuesday night, writing on a post on X that the Trump administration “publicly threatens” Cuba’s government almost daily with overthrowing it, and any act of aggression “will clash with an impregnable resistance.”
The Cuban government also sharply criticized Costa Rica's decision to close its embassy in Cuba on Wednesday, saying in a statement it was an “arbitrary decision” made under pressure by the U.S. in an effort to isolate the island.
Others like 62-year-old doctor Jesús García cast doubt that the Trump administration would remove Díaz-Canel from power or intervene in Cuba, rolling his eyes at Trump comments.
“Americans can say whatever they want. The ones who decide what is done here in Cuba are the Cuban people,” García said.
What seemed to connect pretty much everyone in Cuba was a deep sense of uncertainty in the face of seismic shifts. Cubans have grown accustomed to endemic crisis on the island, and drawing up new ways to adapt to ever-shifting challenges. But many say things have reached a breaking point and are demanding answers from a government increasingly backed into a corner.
One small relief has been aid shipments from activist groups and allied governments like Mexico. Over night, five tons of medical equipment, solar panels and other aid arrived to the island. according to Cuban state television. But such shipments are only a fraction of what is needed and don't solve the country's wider struggle to keep the lights on.
María del Carmen Companioni, 51, said in the face of a political back and forth between the two government, regular Cubans like her are left struggling with the soaring prices and no clear pathway forward.
“Really, all of this has people very alarmed and in a bad state. No one knows what is going to happen," she said.
Seung Min Kim, Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert contributed to this report from Washington.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
People hang out on the sidewalk during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
FILE - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
A woman dances as she waits with a group to enter a charity center to eat a meal, during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man charges his phone and his fan with a solar panel during a blackout in Havana, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
