Such a spy installation would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the southeastern U.S., which houses many U.S. military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic, according to reports.
By Matt Spetalnick and Dave Sherwood
The countries have reached an agreement in principle, the officials said, with China to pay Cuba "several billion dollars" to allow the eavesdropping station, according to the Journal. In Havana, Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio dismissed the report as "totally mendacious and unfounded," calling it a U.S. fabrication meant to justify Washington's decades-old economic embargo against the island. He said Cuba rejects all foreign military presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
It could also raise questions about a trip to China that U.S. officials say Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning in coming weeks. Washington's top diplomat had earlier scrapped the visit over the spy balloon incident. If such a facility is built, the Chinese will use Cuba "as a beachhead for collection against the United States," said Daniel Hoffman, a former senior CIA undercover officer.
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