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Epoch Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Cuba Now a Strategic Battleground for China Against the US
Commentary Cuba has been impoverished by years of communist control, but it possesses a strategic vantage point that China prizes. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in his congressional testimony on May 6 that Cuba is a 'strategic battleground' with China. Twenty sensitive U.S. government facilities in Florida are in range of the expanding Chinese Cyber and Signals Intelligence Collection network in Cuba. Even before the Russians minimized their presence in Cuba in 2002, the Chinese were eyeing the Caribbean country. 'According to an article in El Nuevo Herald, the two reportedly signed an agreement granting China access to a number of former Soviet listening stations across the island, including the Bejucal base less than 10 miles from the old Lourdes station,' he noted. Related Stories 5/14/2025 5/13/2025 As part of the path toward resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy pledged publicly Chinese Military and Intelligence Network Grows in Cuba In the summer of 2023, Cuba leapt onto the front pages with the sudden, Then, The Associated Press reported there was an anonymous Biden administration official who confirmed that this started in 2019, which was a clever way of deflecting responsibility toward President Donald Trump. Berg pointed out that then-National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby 'reversed course and admitted to China's spy bases in Cuba, but insisted that its presence had existed since 2019 under the first Trump administration, implying the Biden administration had 'inherited' the challenge.' 'Around the same time, reports surfaced that China was pursuing the construction of a military training base in Cuba,' he added. Kirby had apparently missed the 1999 visit by Gen. Chi Haotian. In July 2024, The Chinese regime's presence in Cuba is just one element of Chinese surveillance surrounding Florida. China has been Gen. Glen VanHerck, former commander of U.S. Northern Command, pointed out, before the Chinese spy balloon episode, Cuba Receives Promises of Chinese Support Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez in Moscow on May 9 during the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said about the meeting, 'China is ready to work with Cuba to further strengthen their ironclad friendship, build a closer China–Cuba community with a shared future, and set an example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries and sincere interaction between developing countries.' In addition, the BRICS alliance—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—welcomed Cuba into the organization on Jan. 1, 2025, The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has developed an alliance with Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and South Africa in its 'no limits' strategy to take on the United States, and it appears Cuba is entering this grouping of communist and totalitarian countries. CCP Lures Latin American Countries Wi th Financial Offer Following the U.S.–China tariff truce, China hosted a forum with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Beijing on May 13. Left-leaning leaders in Latin America, such as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, were in attendance. The CCP used a Belt and Road Initiative power play and extended a credit line of $9.2 billion to the Latin American countries in attendance, with a very important caveat: The currency used in the line of credit would be the Chinese yuan. The move, which excluded the global reserve currencies like the U.S. dollar, aimed to promote the yuan while China deepens its ties in the Americas. Of all the opportunities in the Americas, Cuba offers China the greatest return on investment. The short distance to the United States from Cuba allows the CCP a key intelligence observation point and a way to create a counterbalance of world support for Taiwan. There may not yet be missiles in Cuba, or at least they haven't been identified, but another Cuban crisis is developing. As a Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump: 25% tariff for countries that buy oil from Venezuela
President Trump announced that any country that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a 25% tariff to the U.S. for any trade they do. Director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic International Studies Ryan Berg joins José Díaz-Balart to discuss the potential impact.
