Another Attempt to Smear Cuba

One of the latest disinformation operations mounted against Cuba, as part of the non-stop U.S. aggression against the island and its people, alleges that Cuba has agreed to let China use its territory to spy on the United States.

The opening public salvo was launched on June 8 by the Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S." It claimed a secret military deal had been struck in which Cuba allowed China to establish an electronic eavesdropping station on the island which it said would help China "identify potential strike targets." Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossio immediately denounced the provocative allegations as totally untrue, unfounded and having malicious intent.

The Chinese government, also a target of the allegations, called the U.S. "the most powerful hacker empire in the world" and said the U.S. was spreading slanderous rumours. China said the U.S. should stop interfering in Cuba's internal affairs and heed the international clamour for an end to its blockade of Cuba.

Over the next three days two more pieces appeared in the Wall Street Journal, ramping up the false narrative against Cuba. This was immediately repeated without question by virtually all of the monopoly-controlled "news" agencies and media outlets in the U.S., Canada and beyond, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Reuters and Associated Press. In Canada, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and CTV amplified what the U.S. newswires put out.

Emphasis was put on the White House claiming to have known about China's "spy base" in Cuba since at least 2019. This was announced after U.S. government officials were said to have scrambled to declassify intelligence they had been provided with so as to be able to answer reporters' questions -- as if U.S. "intelligence" would pass for evidence. All of it left little doubt that the whole media campaign was orchestrated by the U.S. government.

Just days before heading to China on an official visit, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken added his own self-serving spin, declaring that the Trump administration had known about China's "spying" from Cuba and other countries for years. But it was not until Biden took office in 2021, he said, and brought "diplomacy" to bear that results started to be achieved in terms of "slowing down" China's supposed espionage activities of this nature.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded by reiterating that Blinken's assertions were false. He said they are part of a long history of disinformation operations of the U.S. government aimed at providing a pretext for maintaining its economic blockade and campaign of maximum pressure against Cuba. The Minister said this is increasingly being rejected by the international community and from within the U.S. itself. He recalled that it is the U.S. which has imposed tens of military bases throughout the Americas, including the one it maintains against the will of the Cuban people in territory it illegally occupies in Guantánamo.

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) rejects the lies and disinformation the U.S. government has been using as part of its relentless campaign for over six decades to foment counterrevolutionary regime change in Cuba. All those, like the Canadian government, that claim to stand for a rules-based international system, are appeasing the U.S. either by remaining silent in the face of its multi-faceted war against Cuba, or by actively contributing to it. They must also be opposed.

Cuba's stand is based on upholding its rights as a sovereign nation and its commitment to maintaining Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace. This stand is just and one deserving of everyone's support!

This article was published in

Volume 53 Number 7 - September 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/MS53076.HTM

Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca