China has developed multiple spy facilities in Cuba: US think tank

China has developed multiple spy facilities in Cuba, less than 100 miles from Florida, according to a US think-tank report.

China has historically lacked access to ground stations in North America. Accessing installations in Cuba could help close that gap, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think-tank, said in a report which gives satellite images from the region.

Cuban facilities would also provide the ability to monitor radio traffic and potentially intercept data delivered by US satellites as they pass over highly sensitive military sites across the southern United States, CSIS said.

Florida alone is home to the major space-launch complex at Cape Canaveral, the headquarters of both the US Southern Command and Central Command, and multiple submarine and other bases, it added.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder, at a news conference, said China had completed an upgrade of its facilities in Cuba in 2019. “We know that the PRC is going to continue to try to enhance its presence in Cuba and we will continue to keep working to disrupt that. So we’re continuing to monitor this closely, taking steps to counter it,” he said.

Following the report, Congressman Carlos A Gimenez, called on the Biden Administration to take action against Communist China and Castro’s Cuba.

“Communist China is proactively undermining the United States and President Biden has failed to take action. I urge the Biden Administration to counter Communist China’s use of Castro’s Cuba as their satellite state in the Western Hemisphere and apply the full weight of US sanctions to prevent further expansion efforts, Gimenez said.

“Anti-American adversaries are proactively undermining the United States by establishing spy bases to conduct espionage and cyberattacks. These growing threats to our homeland, only minutes away from the US mainland, must be met with strength,” he said.

In a statement, he alleged that the Cuban regime has become all but a satellite state of Communist China with military facilities dotting the island nation’s coast.

New satellite images show a growth in spy bases that are related to Communist China in Cuba, just 90 miles away from our shores. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) expansion of its capabilities in the region continues to threaten our nation, and more directly, our South Florida community, he said.

“These military intelligence facilities are found 90 miles away from the US mainland and only 70 miles away from the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Bejucal, El Salao, Wayay, and Calabazar, as reported by the CSIS.

“These facilities have the capabilities to enhance the Chinese Communist Parties ability to spy on American citizens and US intelligence agencies. The Cuban regime has become a proxy of the CCP,” he said.

First Published: Jul 03 2024 | 7:17 AM IST