These areas hold possible Chinese spy bases in Cuba

A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US think tank, analyzed four installations in Cuba that could be related to China's surveillance activity on the Island.

The think tank experts examined satellite images of the sites. They identified structures that could match equipment to intercept signals from a location close to the United States.

The CSIS admitted, however, that the lack of information about Cuba's relations with China or the Asian country's activities on the Island makes it difficult to distinguish rumors from information.

Still, the report said its conclusion was based on the type of equipment and its distribution. The satellite images showed several dish and post antennas in lineal or circular positions.

The think tank experts believe the stations' location makes them perfect for intercepting communications from the many military, space program, and commercial communications in Florida.

Still, the think tank report said military communications are too encrypted to hear. Still, China could know the frequency and direction of messages and access information from NASA bases like Cape Canaveral.

The report described three installations in the peripheries of Havana. Some of them were active during the Cold War, even housing Soviet nuclear arms during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The first one was Bejucal, where the Soviet missiles were held. CSIS found a field with more than 13 poll and dish antennas, whose orientations have changed many times in the past two years.

Image: Google Earth

Another one close to Havana is the Wajay site. The CSIS identified two guarded posts, a checkpoint entrance, buildings, warehouses, and antenna fields.

Image: Google Earth

There are three guard posts around the perimeter of the third facility near Havana: Calabazar. The installation includes a dish antenna field, including several receivers with different orientations.

Image: Google Earth

The fourth facility CSIS identified is on the far east side of Cuba, the ideal location to intercept communications from the US Guantánamo Bay base on that side of the Island.

CSIS said El Salao is under construction. The think tank claims it is a round field with three concentric circles to install espionage equipment.

Image: Google Earth

The US government confirmed the existence of spy bases in Cuba in 2023 after the Wall Street Journal published an article saying the Asian country paid millions to Cuba for them.

Still, the Biden Administration contradicted the information. It said China has controlled espionage facilities on the Island for decades and that the deals were not new.

China is a vital ally to Cuba as the Island undergoes its worst economic and energy crisis since the 1990s. It has donated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of solar farms, using the same energy as the facilities.

According to news agencies EFE and AFP, the Chinese government denied having spy bases in Cuba. The country's foreign relations spokeswoman said the two countries' relations are cooperation for development.

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