A Biden administration official confirmed that China has had a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019, The Associated Press reported, just days after the administration denied claims that Beijing was developing a spy facility on the island nation.
The unidentified official told the AP that U.S. intelligence agencies have known of China’s spying from Cuba for a while now. The official also said that the U.S. has taken steps to deter China’s push to expand its spying operations through diplomacy and other actions.
The official added that Chinese officials are looking at sites across the Atlantic Ocean, Latin America, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and the Indo-Pacific, as well as their existing collection facilities in Cuba, to expand their influence and operations. The official said that China upgraded the facilities in Cuba in 2019.
The development comes after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that China was planning to base an electronic eavesdropping facility in Cuba. This report sparked criticism of President Biden from GOP lawmakers, who called on Biden to ramp up pressure on China to deter such action.
The Journal report cited unidentified sources familiar with the matter, and CNN also reported last week that Cuba agreed to let China build the facility.
The Pentagon denied the report on China developing a spy facility on Cuba, with Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder calling the report “inaccurate” in a briefing last week.
“Certainly we know that China and Cuba maintain a relationship of sorts, but when it comes to the specific activities outlines in the press reporting, based on the information we have, that is not accurate,” Ryder said. “We are not aware of China and Cuba developing any type of spy station.”
Cuba also denied The Journal’s report, with Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío saying in a statement that the information was ““totally mendacious and unfounded.”
When contacted early Sunday, the Pentagon referred The Hill to the National Security Council, which has not responded to a request for comment.
–Updated at 8:52 a.m.