Global Courant
EXCLUSIVE – Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., warned the Biden administration on Thursday that reports of China closing an agreement to pay Cuba billions of dollars to build a spy base on the island, less than 100 miles from the US mainland, an “imminent threat” to Americans and urged the White House to take action to strengthen national security.
In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, Gimenez — who serves on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party — wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken “express my deep concern regarding several reports confirming that the Communist Party of China and Cuba’s murderous Castro regime have agreed to establish an espionage base just 90 miles from the US coast.
“This action poses an immediate threat to the United States of America,” wrote Gimenez, the only member of Congress born in Cuba. “The Castro regime in Cuba is on the list of state sponsors of terrorism that actively pursues opportunities to undermine the United States and threaten the security and well-being of our citizens. Allowing communist China to establish a base in Cuba, is just the latest example of the actions of the Castro regime’s long history of coercive, anti-American pursuits.”
“As a member of Congress for America’s Southernmost District, which encompasses all of the Florida Keys, this spy base poses a direct threat to my constituents and to the millions of tourists who visit South Florida each year,” he continued. “Communist China is proactively undermining the United States in the Western Hemisphere, and I urge this administration to develop a robust, comprehensive, and effective strategy to counter the CCP’s malign influence on neighboring states.”
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Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., urges Biden administration to address “imminent threat” to Americans amid reports China has struck secret deal to establish listening station in Cuba to attack Americans. (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Gimenez urged the Biden administration to “condemn this blatant threat to our national security interests” and impose sanctions to “prevent anti-American adversaries from establishing a base to carry out espionage, cyber-attacks or other threats to the homeland.” – just minutes away from the mainland United States.”
In a video message, also obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, Gimenez noted standing in front of a sign depicting Cuban Communist President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands at a rally in Beijing in November, how “two old adversaries now join forces against the United States.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Ahmed Yosri/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
“It should maybe give President Biden and Secretary Blinken, you know, a second thought, about maybe restoring ties with Cuba, starting a dialogue with Cuba,” Gimenez said.
“Any kind of diplomatic moves they try to make with Beijing, trust me, I have no confidence in their ability to do that, and I think anything that comes out of those talks probably won’t be beneficial to the United States.” States of America. It will probably benefit these two boys,” he said, gesturing to Xi and Diaz-Canel.
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President Joe Biden (Niall Carson/Pool/Getty Images)
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic wiretapping facility on the island, allowing Chinese intelligence agencies to “pick up electronic communications in the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are located.” , and follow US shipping traffic.”
The report, citing officials familiar with the matter, says: “China has agreed to pay cash-strapped Cuba several billion dollars to build the eavesdropping station, and that the two countries have reached an agreement in principle.” According to the report, US officials described information about the plans as “convincing”.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the report on the China-Cuba base is “not accurate.” The National Security Council separately told Fox News that the WSJ report and a Politico report on the subject are false, but did not elaborate.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel spoke in Beijing on November 25, 2022. (Shen Hong/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Fox News was unable to immediately verify the report’s finding.
“We are not going to comment on those specific reports. On a broader level, we are very aware of the PRC’s attempts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in the Western Hemisphere,” said a United States Department of Defense. official told Fox News. “We will continue to monitor it closely and remain confident that we can meet all our security obligations domestically and across the region.”
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Blinken, who canceled a trip to Beijing amid the spy craft controversy in February, has reportedly moved a trip to China to meet Xi in the coming weeks.
Jennifer Griffin and Patrick Ward of Fox News contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
