Cuba’s Chinese Listening Post: A Wake-Up Call for the United States

According to a June 8th report in The Wall Street Journal, Cuba and China reached a deal to establish a Chinese listening post in Cuba. The Biden administration initially described the report as inaccurate but later disclosed that China established this spy station in Cuba in at least 2019, possibly earlier. This signals reconnaissance facility will be able to intercept communications from the Florida and Gulf of Mexico region, which hosts several U.S. military installations, including the headquarters of U.S. Central Command. Many thought the era of surveillance from Cuba ended decades ago when the Soviet Union collapsed. Unfortunately, Cuba is pivoting toward cooperation with China over cooperation with the U.S. because it lacks normal relations with the United States.

The policy of isolating Cuba started during the Eisenhower administration. The United States imposed an embargo in response to Cuba’s nationalization of American assets and expanded this embargo due to Cuba’s allyship with the Soviet Union. In 1992, the Helms-Burton Act codified this embargo into law. The Obama administration normalized relations between the United States and Cuba in 2014 and reestablished American diplomatic presence in Cuba. The United States lifted some economic and travel restrictions on Cuba and removed it from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List. However, under the Trump administration, U.S. relations with Cuba regressed. Most of these restrictions were reimplemented, and Cuba was readded to the State Sponsor of Terrorism List. The Biden administration initially promised to roll back the Trump-era restrictions but has been reluctant to follow through due to a lack of domestic support in Florida and social unrest in Cuba in 2021. However, the administration lifted a few restrictions, such as the remittances cap, the ban on American travel, and the Cuban family reunification program.

Continued American isolation of Cuba condemns the prospect of better relations. It contributes to the island’s gross underdevelopment, minimal economic opportunity, and deepening ties with China. After over half a century, the long-awaited Cuban democratic revolution has yet to begin. In the 1960s several groups, such as the Cuban Revolutionary Council (CRC), tried and failed to overthrow the Castro Regime during the U.S.-sponsored Bay of Pigs Invasion. Since then, there have been no significant revolutionary attempts in Cuba. Many groups in Cuban society continue to protest and peacefully voice their grievances with the Cuban regime. They are often suppressed and imprisoned by the Cuban authorities, as seen in the July 2021 protests in Havana. 

The movement for human rights in Cuba will press forward through dissident groups and various social movements. However, the notion that the Cuban people would take up arms and revolt because of U.S. economic pressure is a dated and unfounded concept. U.S. foreign policy toward other communist countries, such as Vietnam, encourages economic liberalization and in-depth relations, yet the United States does not adhere to this rationale when it comes to relations with one of its closest neighbors. 

The United States needs to revitalize its policy toward Cuba based on engagement rather than isolation. The U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, in place since 1958, should be lifted once and for all. Bolstering U.S. economic engagement with Cuba will ultimately benefit U.S. foreign policy goals. If the United States does not engage with Cuba, countries like China will. The United States should negotiate Cuba’s removal from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List in exchange for the extradition of U.S. fugitives and terrorists currently in Cuba. In addition, the United States must begin lifting all educational and tourist travel restrictions to Cuba. 

Reopening relations between the United States and Cuba would: 

Enhance Cuban economic welfare and benefit American industry. Opening up economically to Cuba would significantly improve the well-being of average Cuban citizens. Imports from the United States would expand Cuba’s access to U.S. products and would give Cubans access to financial capital and development resources. During the Cuba thaw era of the Obama administration, Cuba received significant investments from various American telecommunications, aviation, and financial corporations. In 2016 a group of 100 Cuban entrepreneurs told members of Congress, “additional measures to increase travel, trade, and investment …will benefit [their] companies, the Cuban people and U.S. national interests.” The growth Cuba would experience from renewed development and American exports may lead to the economic liberalization the United States supports. Increased demand for modern U.S. products in Cuba will also benefit American industry. 

Establish useful cooperation. Renewed engagement with Cuba would bring the potential for collaboration in areas of mutual interest. The United States and Cuba could establish partnerships to provide disaster relief and combat the trafficking of arms, drugs, and humans in the Caribbean. These partnerships may serve to counter Chinese, Russian, and Venezuelan influences that may endanger U.S. security interests. However, while mutual security cooperation with Cuba in these areas may prove helpful, before establishing these ties, the U.S. must secure the extradition of U.S. fugitives and terrorists from Cuba. 

Opponents of improved relations between the United States and Cuba argue that making concessions to the Cuban government only invigorates the regime’s authoritarian grip. However, isolation has failed to achieve any improvements in Cuba’s human rights conditions. The Cuban government continues to suppress any political or public opposition, and Cubans regularly face food and medical shortages because of failed government policies. Isolation means the United States wields little influence over Cuban society. Adopting a more integrative foreign policy will improve U.S. sway. With economic ties, the United States can leverage its economic soft power against the Cuban regime to hold them accountable for protecting citizens’ rights and providing for their basic needs.

The United States must embrace a new approach to its policy toward Cuba that builds bridges and promotes prosperity. If the United States wants to help better the lives of average Cubans, opening economic relations with Cuba will prove most beneficial. It will help create more bridges between the two countries and more avenues for collaboration. Opening up economically will lead to useful cooperation on regional security issues, and more economic and informational exchanges can bolster human rights work. Keeping the doors shut on Cuba will only enhance Cuba’s relationships of convenience with U.S. adversaries, such as China. The United States does not need a Chinese strategic partner on its doorstep in the evolving global race for influence. Increased military cooperation between Cuba and China will put U.S. national security at further risk. It is time for the United States to move beyond the mistakes of the past and embrace a policy of change.

Author: Aidan Pascoe

Managing Editor: Alexander Sarchet

Web Editor: Kate Maughan