The United States has accused Cuba of running a decades-long espionage operation that infiltrated the highest levels of the US government, including the State Department, the National Security Council and the Pentagon. A 70-page State Department report titled "Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism" described the operation as one of the most enduring and damaging foreign intelligence penetrations in American history.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the report exposes the full history of Cuban espionage and subversion in the United States. The document alleges Havana recruited activists and intellectuals since the 1960s, trained tens of thousands of left-wing guerrillas, and cultivated a network of aligned organizations including the Democratic Socialists of America, Code Pink and the National Lawyers Guild. The report also identified Cuba as a force multiplier for China, Russia and Iran.
The accusations come amid rising bilateral tensions. Rubio has convened 66 countries to build an alliance against left-wing extremism, while President Donald Trump has signalled that Cuba's government could be the next to fall under American pressure.