Cuba denied on Thursday (8) any agreement between the island and China to establish an electronic spy facility in the territory about 160 kilometers from Florida, in the United States, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said in a statement that the report was a lie concocted by US officials to destabilize the country and worsen the decades-long economic and trade blockade.
“We reject any foreign military presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, including many US military bases and forces,” he said.
The alleged spy facility would allow Beijing to collect electronic communications from the southeastern US, which is home to many US military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic, the newspaper reported, citing US officials familiar with classified information.
The countries reached an agreement in principle, officials said, with China to pay Cuba “several billion dollars” to allow the spy station, according to the newspaper.
Ties between the US and China have deteriorated over disputes ranging from military activity in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, Beijing’s human rights record and technological competition.
(Mario Fuentes, Alexander Frometa, Anett Rios, Anna Portella)
Source: CNN Brasil
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