Caribbean & Central America - July 2026

For months the Cuban government has been involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations with the US administration led by President Donald Trump over political and economic reform, up to and including the possibility of ‘regime change’. A key issue in the talks is Washington’s demand that Russian and Chinese electronic espionage facilities be shut down.

Over the years Washington’s adversaries have invested significantly in building signals intelligence (SIGINT) listening posts in Cuba, located some 90-100 miles from Florida. During the Cold War Russia used the Lourdes SIGINT station south of Havana to monitor US communications. It was closed down in 2002 as Havana-Moscow relations took a turn for the worse. More recently, however, there are signs of resumed cooperation, with the Russians monitoring US military activity in the region. The real growth area however has been in Cuban cooperation with China. According to a variety of sources, China has been operating listening posts in Cuba since 2019. It is now said to be running monitoring sites in Bejucal municipality (Mayabeque province), Calabazar and Wajay (both wards in Boyeros municipality, Havana province), and El Salao in Santiago de Cuba municipality, in the eponymous province. In December 2024 US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) identified four possible sites being used by China for SIGINT, out of nearly a dozen that were rumoured to be used for this purpose.

Exactly what these stations are doing on a day-to-day basis is not clear, and both China and Cuba deny taking part in any espionage. But they are likely seeking to intercept US military, commercial, and government communications through electronic eavesdropping. They are close to intelligence-rich US targets: US Southern Command (near Miami) and Central Command (in Tampa), as well as the space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center (KSC), located on Florida’s east coast, and the US naval base in Guantánamo on the island itself. Reportedly, the equipment used typically includes large satellite dishes and so called ‘elephant cages’ – circularly disposed antenna arrays (CDAAs) which can be used for the triangulation and interception of radio signals.

In April this year US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Cuba of hosting Russian and Chinese espionage operations and warned “Washington will not allow any foreign military, intelligence, or security apparatus to operate with impunity just 90 miles from the shores of the United States.” In May, the Wall Street Journal cited US intelligence sources who said Russia and China have tripled their intelligence personnel presence in Cuba since 2023 and incorporated more modern equipment. In the same month, news website Axios, also citing US intelligence sources, reported that Cuba had acquired more than 300 drones which could potentially be used against the US base in Guantánamo.  

An important question is how US and Cuban negotiators will deal with the electronic espionage issue in coming months. Other items on the agenda include economic reform, where in June Cuba made some initial pro-foreign investment announcements; the future of the trade embargo; and political reform including the release of political prisoners.

On many of these – such as ending the one-party state – Cuba has ‘red lines’ it does not want to cross. That raises the possibility that Havana might use a promise to close down the electronic surveillance stations as a bargaining chip to gain other concessions from the US.  But for the Cuban government there are no easy choices: closing the listening posts would offend China, which is one of Cuba’s key economic and strategic partners.

Raúl Castro’s grandson speaks

Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former president Raúl Castro (2008-2018), gave an unusual interview to United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based newspaper The National on 19 June, insisting that his country “does not represent the smallest threat to the interests and the national security of the United States.” Raúl has no official position in either the government or PCC but has nevertheless played an important role in negotiating with the US. In the interview, the younger Castro called for a “cordial, respectful, and civilised” dialogue between the two countries while “respecting our differences”. In an indirect reference to the US trade embargo, he said it was difficult to have a conversation “in a hostile environment marked by coercion, threats and imposition.”