Satellite Images Reportedly Show Four Chinese Spy Stations Constructed in Cuba

Satellite Images Reportedly Show Four Chinese Spy Stations Constructed in Cuba

In April, by colleague James R. Nault noted that our country was facing major delays in the construction of Naval ships; meanwhile, the Chinese were going full steam ahead in expanding their fleet.

It appears the Chinese have also been busy constructing new spy stations. While that is not surprising, the location is rather disturbing.

Satellite imagery has reportedly identified four of these stations in Cuba.

Images captured from space show the growth of Cuba’s electronic eavesdropping stations that are believed to be linked to China, including new construction at a previously unreported site about 70 miles from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, according to a new report.

The study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, follows reporting last year by The Wall Street Journal that China and Cuba were negotiating closer defense and intelligence ties, including establishing a new joint military training facility on the island and an eavesdropping facility.

At the time, the Journal reported that Cuba and China were already jointly operating eavesdropping stations on the island, according to U.S. officials, who didn’t disclose their locations. It couldn’t be determined which, if any, of those are included in the sites covered by the CSIS report.

🚨BREAKING NEWS —> We’ve just received NEW SATELLITE IMAGES of Communist #China’s spy bases in Castro’s #Cuba posing a threat to the U.S. & especially my community in South Florida only 90 miles away!

Our enemy is at our doorstep & Joe Biden has failed to lead! pic.twitter.com/02W9cBl7Vd

— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) July 2, 2024

The new sites mean that China has a lot more listening capability targeting the U.S., beyond the balloons that have been permitted to waft over this country.

The site is one of four signal intelligence facilities in Cuba that the report says might be “the most likely locations supporting China’s efforts to spy on the United States.”

The structure appears to be a large group of antennas, called a circularly disposed antenna array or CDAA, that allows analysts to determine the origin and direction of incoming high-frequency signals.

They were commonly used to spy during the Cold War. “Once operational, this CDAA will serve as a powerful tool for enhancing air and maritime domain awareness in the region, where the U.S. military and its international partners operate regularly,” the report said. Given Cuba’s proximity to the United States, China’s intelligence collection in Cuba “ would open a significant intelligence window inaccessible from within Chinese territory.”

The Chinese certainly have moved quickly in the construction of these facilities. It’s almost as if they have determined there is a deadline they need to meet. I wonder what that could be.

But take heart, our State Department and Pentagon is on top of the situation.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder mirrored [, U.S. State Department principal deputy spokesman Vedant] Patel’s comments and said the U.S. military was “taking steps to counter” intelligence gathering.

“We’re confident,” he said, “that we can continue to meet our security commitments both here at home and in the region. As you may have heard us say, or the White House say, almost a year ago they’ve been tracking that these activities have been going on for decades.”

“The PRC had completed an upgrade of its facilities in Cuba in 2019,” Ryder added. “We know that the PRC is going to continue to try to enhance its presence in Cuba and we will continue to keep working to disrupt that. So we’re continuing to monitor this closely.”

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