(CNN) — Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez reiterated his firm denial of the presence of a Chinese spy base in Cuba on Monday night in a televised speech, excerpts of which were posted on his official Twitter account in Spanish and English.
“The US Secretary of State’s claims about the presence of a Chinese spy base in Cuba are false, totally false. Cuba’s position on the matter is clear and unequivocal. These allegations are groundless.”
Rodríguez went on to say that the United States itself had “dozens of military bases in our region and also maintains, against the will of the Cuban people, a military base in the territory it illegally occupies in the province of Guantanamo.”
Rodríguez’s comments were the highest-level denial by the Cuban government to date since the controversy over the alleged basis erupted.
Rodríguez’s denial of the presence of a Chinese spy base in Cuba came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that China improved its spy facilities in Cuba in 2019 and that US diplomatic efforts China’s efforts have slowed down to involve countries considering hosting such facilities.
It also comes days after The Wall Street Journal and CNN reported last week, citing sources close to intelligence, that China and Cuba had reached an agreement on a new electronic spy base on the island, something both the government of the United States that Cuba called. inaccurate.
It also comes after CNN reported this weekend — citing a Biden administration official and two other sources — that China has been operating military and intelligence facilities in Cuba since 2019, Blinken officially said on Monday.
