The Cuban Foreign Ministry denied this Thursday the information of the american newspaper The Wall Street Journal which affirms that the Government of the Island signed an agreement with China to allow the installation in its territory of a large secret spy center.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, assured in a statement to the media that it is “unfounded information”, “slander” and “fallacies” to justify the United States sanctions against Cuba and destabilize the Island.
He added that the Cuban government rejects “all military presence” in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the US in Guantanamo.
According to information from the New York newspaper, the center would allow communications to be intercepted at the regional level. For the installation of this infrastructure, of which no location or more data was provided, Cuba would receive “billions of dollars” as compensation.
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, pointed out that the newspaper’s note is “inaccurate” but that the US “is focused on making sure it can mitigate any threat from China in the region.”
“Slanders of this type have frequently been fabricated by US officials, apparently familiar with intelligence information,” said Fernández de Cossío.
The diplomat related the content of the article in the US newspaper to other information that has been published in the past, such as the “supposed acoustic attacks against diplomatic personnel” of the US on the island, “the non-existent Cuban military presence in Venezuela” and “the existence imaginary of chemical weapons laboratories” in Cuba.
“The hostility of the United States against Cuba and the extreme and cruel measures that cause humanitarian damage and punish the Cuban people cannot be justified in any way,” he concluded.
In declarations to the American chain msnbcJohn Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, pointed out that the newspaper’s note is “inaccurate” but that the US “is focused on making sure it can mitigate any threat from China in the region.”
“What I can tell you is that we have been concerned since day one of this Administration about Chinese influence activities around the world, even more so in this hemisphere and in this region,” Kirby said. “We are watching this very, very closely.”
For his part, the Pentagon spokesman, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, quoted by ReutersHe also said that the information from the US media “is not accurate” but assured his country is “aware that China and Cuba are developing a new type of spy station.”
“In terms of that particular report, no, it’s not accurate,” he added.
“Beyond that, we are very aware of China’s attempts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may serve military purposes,” including in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ryder said. “We will continue to monitor it closely and are confident that we can meet all of our security commitments at home and across the region.”
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