Cuba’s nonagenarian communist dictator Raúl Castro met with Chinese military officials days after a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) revealed new evidence on existing Cuban eavesdropping facilities that China may be utilizing to spy on the United States.
CSIS, a Washington-based think tank, warned throughout the year that the Castro regime maintains four facilities located in Bejucal, El Salao, Wajay, and Calabazar that stand as the most likely facilities supporting China’s efforts to collect signals intelligence (SIGINT) on the region and conduct espionage operations on the United States.
Satellite imagery reviewed by CSIS indicates that the Castro regime has expanded the four bases and conducted noticeable upgrades on the facilities in recent years such as the installation of dozens of new dish antennas mainly used to intercept satellite communications and the expansion of the infrastructure in some of the bases. Some of the bases now feature their own solar power grids that CSIS explained likely serve as an “insurance” against Cuba’s derelict power grid, which has completely collapsed several times in recent months and is presently in a barely functional state.
The Washington-based think tank called for the United States and its regional partners to “carefully monitor China’s growing role in Cuba, harden sensitive communications, and push for transparency to reduce the likelihood of miscalculation.”
Prensa Latina, a Cuban state-run propaganda outlet, reported on Sunday that He Weidong, Vice Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), met with the 93-year old communist dictator on Saturday.
According to the Cuban propaganda outlet, Castro stressed that “in both nations the armed forces are an important bulwark in the construction of socialism.” The Chinese military official was accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Hua Xin, while Castro was accompanied by the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Alvaro Lopez Miera. Prensa Latina also pointed out that He met with Cuba’s figurehead President Miguel Díaz-Canel prior to meeting with Castro.
The Chinese defense minister issued a press release on the meeting between He and Díaz-Canel, in which the Chinese official stated that the friendship between China and Cuba “has been passed on from generation to generation, and the relations between the two parties, two countries and two militaries remain steadfast.”
“Under the strategic guidance of two heads of state, the two sides have conducted close strategic collaboration, resulting in fruitful pragmatic cooperation,” the Chinese Defense Ministry stated.
“No matter how the international situation changes, the two sides will firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests, further enhance cooperation in mutual visits and communication, personnel training and other fields, and elevate the military-to-military relations to a new level to inject new impetus into the building of a China-Cuba community with a shared future,” the Ministry continued.
A Department of State spokesperson told the Miami-based outlet Martí Noticias last week that the U.S. government is monitoring “very, very closely” the growing Chinese military presence in Cuba.
“This is something we’ve been monitoring very, very closely, and we’ve been very clear about it. We will protect our homeland and we will protect our interests,” the spokesperson reportedly said.
“We assess that our diplomatic effort has slowed the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attempts to project and maintain its military power around the world. The PRC will continue to try to increase its presence in Cuba, and we will continue to work to disrupt it,” the spokesperson continued.
Chinese Spokesperson Mao Ning dismissed CSIS’s report on behalf of the communist regime during a Wednesday press conference, in which Mao described the think tank’s claims as “just tales that do not exist and no one has seen.”
“Let me stress again that China’s cooperation with Cuba is done aboveboard, and does not target any third party. We certainly would not accept any deliberate vilification and smear from any third party,” Mao said. “It is widely known that US intelligence agencies have an egregious record in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
“The US unlawfully occupied Guantanamo Bay as its military base and imposed blockade and sanctions against Cuba for over six decades, which has been catastrophic for the Cuban people.”
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