China Has Been Spying from Cuba, Says Biden Administration Official
Introduction
According to a Biden administration official, China has been spying from Cuba for some time. They upgraded their intelligence collection facilities there in 2019. This follows a report about a new spying effort underway on the island.
The Report
A report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday claimed that China had reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island. However, both the U.S. and Cuban governments strongly doubt the report.
The Response
The Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the media’s characterization “does not comport with our understanding,” but did not specify how the report was wrong nor address in detail whether there were efforts by China to build a new eavesdropping facility in Cuba.
A spokesperson from China’s embassy in Washington accused the U.S. of “spreading rumors and slander” with talk of a Cuba spy station, and of being “the most powerful hacker empire in the world.” The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Background Information
According to the Biden administration official, the issue predated Joe Biden’s presidency, as had Beijing’s efforts to strengthen its intelligence collection infrastructure worldwide. “This is an ongoing issue, and not a new development,” the official said. “The PRC (People’s Republic of China) conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019. This is well-documented in the intelligence record.”
Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio dismissed the Journal’s report as “totally mendacious” and called it a U.S. fabrication meant to justify Washington’s decades-old economic embargo against the island. He said Cuba rejects all foreign military presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Tensions Between Washington and Beijing
Allegations of Chinese spying from Cuba come at a time when Washington and Beijing are taking tentative steps to soothe tensions. That includes a trip to China planned for June 18 by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Biden administration official said that despite the former administration of Donald Trump being aware of the Chinese basing effort in Cuba and making some attempts to address the challenge, “we were not making enough progress and needed a more direct approach.”
The official said U.S. diplomats had engaged governments that were considering hosting Chinese bases and had exchanged information with them. “Our experts assess that our diplomatic efforts have slowed the PRC down,” the official said. “We think the PRC isn’t quite where they had hoped to be.”