cuba-usa

https://dcdailyjournal.com/congress/u-s-house-sounds-national-security-alarm-over-foreign-enemy-spotted-just-off-the-coast/

U.S. House sounds national security alarm over foreign enemy spotted just off the coast

DC Daily Journal

May 7, 2025

The United States has rarely had to defend its homeland from invaders. But that could change in an instant.

Because the U.S. House has sounded the alarm for President Trump that a foreign enemy has been spotted just off the U.S. coast.

Chinese Spy Bases in Cuba Threaten U.S. Security

The United States faces a growing challenge just 90 miles from its shores, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ramps up its espionage efforts in Cuba. On Tuesday, two House committees sounded the alarm, urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deliver a classified briefing on the threat posed by multiple suspected Chinese spy installations on the island.

The House Homeland Security Committee and the House Select Committee on the CCP penned a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, pressing for a detailed threat assessment. The letter points to at least four signals intelligence (SIGINT) installations that China is either establishing or has already set up in Cuba. These sites, strategically positioned as close as 90 miles from the U.S. coast, could intercept sensitive data from critical American facilities like Kennedy Space Center, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, which lies just 70 miles from one of the suspected installations.

Leading the charge, five Republican representatives signed the letter, including House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, Select Committee on the CCP Chairman John Moolenaar of Michigan, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Sheri Biggs of South Carolina, and Eli Crane of Arizona. Their unified front demonstrates the Trump administration’s commitment to tackling national security threats head-on, particularly those emanating from authoritarian regimes like China and Cuba.

“It is vital for Congress to have the necessary information to counter the growing threat of the CCP’s intelligence operations just 90 miles from the homeland,” Green said. “We cannot stand by as the CCP and the authoritarian Cuban regime become more politically and economically intertwined, especially as Beijing works to build up capabilities to wage electronic and information warfare that directly undermines U.S. national security.”

The suspected Chinese spy bases are strategically located across Cuba, with three clustered near Havana in Bejucal, Wajay, and Calabazar, according to a July 2024 report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies. A fourth site sits in the El Salao neighborhood of Santiago de Cuba, on the island’s southeast corner. This geographic spread suggests a calculated effort by China to maximize its surveillance reach over key U.S. military and space assets.

“The security risks posed by these developments are particularly acute across the air, space, and maritime domains,” the letter states. “By fusing telemetry interception, geospatial intelligence collection, and electromagnetic surveillance, [China] is positioning itself to systematically erode U.S. strategic advantages without ever firing a shot.” The Trump administration’s focus on countering such asymmetric threats aligns with its overall push to safeguard American interests against foreign adversaries.

Recent developments at these Cuban sites raise further concerns. The Bejucal base, for instance, now boasts a “circular disposed antenna array” and “repositioned satellite dishes,” indicating a shift toward “long-range, wideband electromagnetic surveillance,” according to the letter. These upgrades point to China’s intent to deepen its intelligence-gathering capabilities in the Western Hemisphere, a move the Trump administration is poised to counter.

The letter notes that these installations have shown signs of expansion in recent years, signaling China’s long-term investment in Cuba as a strategic foothold. This escalation comes as no surprise, given China’s history of leveraging economic ties to advance its geopolitical goals. Since 2000, Beijing has poured nearly $8 billion into Cuban infrastructure projects, including a sprawling telecommunications network built by Chinese firms Huawei and Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation (ZTE).

Both Huawei and ZTE have faced U.S. sanctions for their roles in global surveillance and repression. In November 2022, the Federal Communications Commission banned the sale and import of their equipment, citing an “unacceptable risk to national security.” The Trump administration’s tough stance on these companies reinforces its commitment to protecting American sovereignty from Chinese technological encroachment.

“The integration of these technologies into Cuba’s digital infrastructure raises the specter of regional communications exposure to [Chinese government]-linked platforms,” the letter warns. This vulnerability could allow China to monitor and manipulate communications across the Caribbean, a scenario the Trump administration is determined to prevent through robust countermeasures.

To address this looming threat, the House committees have requested a comprehensive briefing from DHS, along with written responses to five critical questions. These inquiries seek to clarify DHS’s assessment of China’s intelligence operations in Cuba, including details on the suspected infrastructure developments at the four sites. The Trump administration’s insistence on transparency ensures that Congress is equipped to respond effectively to Beijing’s provocations.

The letter also probes DHS’s coordination with other government entities, such as the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and the Department of State. By fostering interagency collaboration, the Trump administration aims to build a unified front against China’s growing influence in Cuba. This approach contrasts sharply with the perceived inaction of previous administrations, which allowed Chinese espionage to flourish unchecked.

One specific question asks DHS to outline its efforts to “raise awareness among industry and government entities about risks related to [China’s] surveillance platforms in Cuba.” This proactive outreach is a hallmark of the Trump administration’s strategy to engage both public and private sectors in safeguarding national security.

China’s ambitions extend far beyond Cuba. According to the Department of Defense, China is “the only competitor to the United States with the intent and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order.” The Trump administration recognizes this challenge and is taking decisive steps to counter Beijing’s global influence, particularly in America’s immediate sphere of influence.

The letter warns that “if left unchecked, [China’s] activities in Cuba could establish a forward operating base for electronic warfare, enable intelligence collection, and influence operations that directly undermine U.S. national security interests.” This stark assessment drives the Trump administration’s urgency to act swiftly and decisively.

During the Biden administration, Chinese espionage in the U.S. surged, with at least 59 CCP-related criminal cases reported between February 2021 and August 2024, according to a House Committee on Homeland Security report. By confronting China’s spy bases in Cuba, the Trump administration is sending a clear message: the United States will not tolerate foreign adversaries encroaching on its doorstep.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-mexico-shamefully-joins-russia-110000372.html

Opinion - Mexico shamefully joins Russia, Venezuela in backing Cuba’s dictatorship

Arturo McFields, Opinion Contributor

Fri, November 1, 2024

For 30 years, the Soviet Union was the main supporter of Cuba’s communist dictatorship, pumping into it more than $29 billion worth of money, weapons, food, oil and technology — a debt that Russia ultimately wrote off. In the 1990s, Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela became Cuba’s new lifeline for Cuba, contributing $35 billion over 15 years in oil alone.

With Venezuela in shambles, Mexico, the main U.S. trading partner, has become Cuba’s new lifeline, sending food, oil and anything else it can to support the longest-standing dictatorship in the Americas. Yet nothing is enough. Nothing can rescue Cuba’s failed communist economy.

Mexico promotes a nonsense diplomacy in favor of Cuba. In 2023, Mexico even blackmailed the U.S. by saying that it would cooperate on the migration crisis but would also like the U.S. to resume talks with Cuba. In 2022, Mexico rejected a presidential invitation to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, solely because the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not invited.

Although few Americans have noticed, Mexico is experiencing an extremely violent In less than a month, two car bombs have exploded, a priest was murdered and a mayor was decapitated. States such as Sinaloa have seen nearly 60 straight days of chaos and crime. Despite all this, Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has made the crisis in Havana her main priority.

In 2023, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador guaranteed 5.4 million barrels of oil to Cuba, a national record. The supply, valued at $391 million, is a solidarity support to the dictatorship that has 1,100 political prisoners and has gone 65 years without free elections. Those are the values that Mexico’s government evidently honors and admires.

Without even blushing, Sheinbaum promised Cuba “everything” it wants, thus unwittingly showing that the Cuban embargo is a lie. Her shipment of 400,000 barrels of oil and at least 100 tons of meat to Cuba may or may not reach its people.

The Cuban regime blames the blackouts on a combination of lack of oil supply and obsolete machinery. The main problem is not mentioned: poor management, confiscations of private property and an unfriendly investment climate.

Although the Mexican government has maintained an opaque management of cooperation with the island, Havana has paid Venezuela for its oil with Cuban doctors’ slave labor and military advisors. A similar cooperation scheme could result in Mexico as well.

The sick solidarity with Cuba punishes the people of Mexico. In May Mexico experienced one of the largest blackouts in its history, affecting Puebla, Guanajuato, Chiapas, Tamaulipas and Oaxaca. This bears an uncanny likeness to Venezuela before its collapse.

In 2023, Mexico went from casual donations to Cuba to being its second largest oil supplier at 13,000 barrels per day. Mexico’s solidarity surpassed that of Russia (12,000 barrels) and perhaps soon Venezuela as well (55,000 barrels).

Castro’s dictatorship destroyed agricultural and livestock production. A country that exported food to the world today begs for it. The regime buys $2 billion in basic products, but corruption and mismanagement generate poverty and scarcity.

https://thenewamerican.com/opinion/cuba-reminds-us-again-why-competition-matters/

Cuba Reminds Us Why Competition Matters

by Paul Dragu October 22, 2024

Cuba is a communist country. That means that every market component that matters is run by the Party faithful, not necessarily people who know what they’re doing.

This is typical. Behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe, where I was born, when the Soviets took power, they took control of manufacturing and agriculture. They nationalized everything, putting people in charge based on Party allegiance rather than expertise. As a result, production and quality plummeted, and the people suffered. Many starved to death because the communists ousted the competent agricultural producers they dubbed “capitalists.”

Ever since Fidel Castro’s communist revolution in 1959, Cuba has been poorer, much poorer, than it once was. Today it can’t even keep the lights on. Its power grid has been flickering on and off for many months. But more recently, Cubans have suffered through enduring blackouts for days. They’ve been thinking of protesting, but that would make matters worse as they’ll likely be beaten and thrown in jail.

If you ask the people in charge, they blame the blackouts on an embargo the United States began in 1958. The embargo is the scapegoat for every national ill in Cuba. Nonetheless, it has undoubtedly had an impact.

The embargo against Cuba began with restrictions on weapons. Then in 1960, it was upgraded to include everything but food and medicine. Then in 1962, President John F. Kennedy expanded the embargo to include all imports of products containing Cuban goods, even if the final products had been made or assembled outside Cuba.

But if the country weren’t run by communist imbeciles, the people would’ve long figured out how to improve their standard of living. Cubans have proven to be highly intelligent and efficient when given a chance in a pseudo-free-market society such as the American one.

No Motivation = Poverty

Communism is by nature a monopoly. That means there is no motivation for the people in charge to improve anything because there is no threat to their jobs. Government workers have job security at the expense of everyone else’s standard of living. This explains why between 2022 and 2023, three million Cubans have left the island.

Competition is the key to excellence. But when it’s stifled, poverty prevails, excellence suffers, and the human spirit is shackled.

This is illustrated in private organizations as well. Organizations that don’t hold people accountable for the quality of their work churn out poor work. Organizations that prioritize politics over excellence produce poor work.

On the other hand, the organizations that make quality a priority are more likely to get rid of the poor performers, the apathetic workers, and the grumblers; those who put in minimal work but expect to receive a full paycheck.

Competition is key to innovation and high standards of living. It’s no coincidence that the bigger the government has become in the United States, the worse things have become. The most glaring example is the government’s intrusion into healthcare. Insurance premiums are getting more expensive, yet healthcare is getting worse. Why? Because the government got involved. Private insurance costs have skyrocketed as medical facilities burden the productive people with covering the losses from ObamaCare, Medicare, and Medicaid. This demoralized the good doctors and the nurses as well.

America was built on ambition. Ambition is our tradition, Donald Trump said during this year’s Republican National Convention. The American economy skyrocketed to dizzying heights in record time because word spread around the world that here the only limit to success is you, the individual.

That tradition has slowly been eroding.

We must make ambition great again, lest we all become like Cuba.

https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/10/09/report-cuba-interfering-in-2024-downticket-races-to-bolster-pro-communist-candidates/
9Oct2024
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) warned in a briefing on Monday that the communist regime of Cuba is looking
to actively interfere in America’s 2024 election, not only influencing votes for president but seeking to aid pro-communist candidates
in local and congressional races....

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