Cuban post claims more Russian, Chinese espionage

Diario de Cuba posted on X on May 23 that U.S. officials were warning of increased Russian and Chinese espionage activity in Cuba, reviving a long-running security issue tied to the island’s proximity to Florida. The post pointed to reporting that Moscow and Beijing had expanded intelligence operations on the island and upgraded facilities used to monitor U.S. military activity. Other Spanish-language outlets and aggregators on May 22 and May 23 echoed the same core claim and attributed it to officials familiar with classified U.S. intelligence assessments. ### What exactly did the X post claim? The May 23 post from Diario de Cuba said the United States was warning of a rise in Russian and Chinese espionage from Cuba. Search results tied to the outlet’s coverage show the report focused on expanded intelligence operations and on listening facilities aimed at U.S. sites in Florida. CiberCuba, citing the same underlying Wall Street Journal reporting, said China and Russia had nearly tripled intelligence personnel in Cuba since 2023 and invested in electronic listening facilities. (14ymedio.com) Political Wire, summarizing the Journal’s report, said the findings were based on officials familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments. (diariodecuba.com) ### Where did the numbers come from? The number repeated across follow-on reports was “roughly tripled” or “nearly tripled” since 2023. Political Wire and several market-news aggregators attributed that figure to officials familiar with classified U.S. intelligence assessments described by the Wall Street Journal. The reports also said the facilities were positioned to monitor U.S. military sites in Florida, including commands near Tampa and Miami. 14ymedio said some sites were oriented toward U.S. (cibercuba.com) Central Command in Tampa and U.S. Southern Command near Miami. ### Why is Cuba central to this story? Cuba sits about 100 miles from Florida, a distance repeatedly cited in the May 22 and May 23 reports. (politicalwire.com) CiberCuba said the facilities’ location gives them reach toward military communications, maritime traffic and other signals in the southeastern United States. CSIS had already documented suspected Chinese-linked signals intelligence activity in Cuba before this week’s reports. (14ymedio.com) In a 2024 feature and a later snapshot update, CSIS identified four active sites in Cuba likely supporting efforts to spy on the United States and said new imagery showed developments at Bejucal, one of the best-known monitoring sites. ### Is this a new allegation or part of a longer pattern? (cibercuba.com) The May 2026 reporting builds on a public dispute that dates back at least to June 2023, when the Wall Street Journal reported that China and Cuba had reached an agreement tied to an electronic eavesdropping facility. Later open-source analysis and congressional scrutiny kept the issue alive through 2024 and 2025. (features.csis.org) Diario de Cuba has also published related reports this year on Chinese espionage activity involving Cuba, including an April 29 item citing Bloomberg reporting about hackers targeting the Cuban embassy in Washington. That does not prove the May 23 claim, but it shows the outlet has been following the espionage issue across several lines of reporting. ### What is still not publicly established? (en.unav.edu) No U.S. government intelligence assessment was released publicly in the material surfaced here on May 23. The most specific claims — the increase in personnel, the upgraded equipment and the targeting of Florida military sites — were carried through secondary reports that said they were based on officials familiar with classified assessments. (diariodecuba.com) The next concrete step for readers is to watch for any public statement from the White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Pentagon or congressional intelligence committees responding to the May 22-23 reports, as well as any new reporting from the Wall Street Journal or Diario de Cuba. (14ymedio.com) (en.cibercuba.com)