St. Petersburg, Florida (News Nation) — New satellite images released on Monday have rekindled concerns about China’s growing presence in Cuba and rekindled fears that President Xi Jinping’s military is using the island to spy on U.S. military bases.
The new report comes a year after the Biden administration accused China of building up intelligence bases in Cuba for years, one of which is just over 50 miles from the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay.
A closer look: Satellite images of Chinese military base in Cuba
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the United States. The images are from the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiole, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
Satellite images of four SIGINT sites in Cuba that are allegedly strategically placed to spy on the U.S. These images are provided by the Hidden Reach project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and appear in “Covered Signals: Decoding Chinese Intelligence in Cuba” by Matthew P. Funaiore, Aidan Powers Riggs, Brian Hart, Henry Ziemer, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Ryan C. Berg, and Christopher Hernandez Roy. (Credit: CSIS/Hidden Reach/Maxar 2024)
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has released satellite images showing the latest upgrades to Cuba’s surveillance capabilities that are likely linked to China. The report highlights the fact that China has access to multiple spy facilities in Cuba, identifying four facilities on the island.
Why is it such a big deal? CSIS says China could capture sensitive electronic communications from U.S. military bases, monitor rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and even spy on classified American information.
First there were Chinese spy balloons in the skies, then reports of Chinese companies buying up farmland near U.S. military bases, and now these reports, which some argue are yet another strong indication that Washington’s biggest strategic rival is trying to keep an eye on the United States.
Cuba denies the allegations
NewsNation has reached out to the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence but has not yet heard back.
But Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cosío slammed the Wall Street Journal report on social media, calling it a “campaign of intimidation” and denying that Cuba was harboring Chinese military interests on the island.
In their annual threat assessment this year, U.S. intelligence officials publicly said China is targeting Cuba for military installations, but did not elaborate. While such signals intelligence was used extensively in Cuba by Russia and the U.S. during the Cold War, CSIS said China is actively building new electronic spy sites.
China has recently been strengthening its presence in the Western Hemisphere, including in the Caribbean.
Biden administration officials said last year that Beijing was spying from Cuba and had strengthened its intelligence collection facilities there in 2019, charges both Beijing and Cuba deny.
