China has been operating an intelligence unit in Cuba for years and upgraded it in 2019 as part of a global effort by Beijing to boost its intelligence-gathering capabilities, according to a US White House official.
According to international media reports, the statement came days after US reported that China had reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 160km (100 miles) from the state of Florida in southern United States.
The US media reported that China planned to pay a cash-strapped Cuba billions of dollars as part of the negotiations.
As per reports, the official said the issue predated US President Joe Biden’s administration 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.”
The Cuban government, meanwhile, slammed the latest development.
“Slanderous speculation continues, evidently promoted by certain media outlets to cause damage and alarm, without following minimal communication patterns, and without providing data or evidence to support what they spread,” Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said on Twitter.
He said Cuba rejects all foreign military presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
