Satellite images show growing Chinese military presence in Cuba: CSIS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (NewsNation) — New outer images released Monday person renewed interest implicit China's increasing beingness successful Cuba, reigniting fears that President Xi Jinping's forces are utilizing the land to spy connected American subject bases.

The caller study comes a twelvemonth aft the Biden medication accused China of upgrading Cuban quality bases for years — 1 of those bases conscionable implicit 50 miles from a U.S. subject basal successful Guantanamo Bay.

Closer look: Satellite images of Chinese subject bases successful Cuba

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published these outer images, showing the latest upgrade to the country's surveillance capabilities that are believed to beryllium linked to China. The study focuses connected the information China has entree to aggregate spy facilities successful Cuba — pinpointing 4 sites crossed the island.

Why’s that specified a large deal? Well, the CSIS says it could let China to scoop up delicate physics communications from American subject bases, support an oculus connected rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and NASA's Kennedy Space Center and spy connected American’s delicate information, too.

First, determination were Chinese spy balloons successful the sky; second, determination were reports of Chinese companies scooping up farmland, often adjacent US subject bases; and now, these reports. The study claims it's adjacent much of an denotation Washington's apical strategical rival is trying to support tabs connected the U.S.

Cuba denies harboring claims

NewsNation reached retired to the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence but hasn’t heard backmost yet.

However, Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio blasted a Wall Street Journal’s report connected societal media, calling it an “intimidation campaign” and denied Cuba was harboring Chinese subject interests connected the island.

In this year’s yearly menace assessment, U.S. quality officials said publically that China is pursuing subject facilities successful Cuba, but didn’t spell into overmuch detail. Such signals quality was utilized heavy by Russia and the U.S. during the Cold War successful Cuba, but the CSIS said China had been actively gathering caller physics spying sites.

China has precocious accrued its beingness successful the Western Hemisphere, including successful the Caribbean.

Last year, Biden medication officials said Beijing has been spying from Cuba and upgraded its quality postulation facilities determination successful 2019 — allegations that some Beijing and Havana person denied.