Washington, Aug 5 (IANS) The United States has deployed additional intelligence personnel to Cuba and intensified its intelligence activities in the Caribbean country in recent months, reported Politico.
Citing sources, the report said the United States has recently sent intelligence personnel and resources to Cuba, describing the upped intelligence presence as a key tactical move that could pave the way for a potential US military intervention. It added that US military operations are often preceded by increased intelligence activities.
Another source said the move reflected a recent increase in the Central Intelligence Agency’s presence in Cuba, according to the report, Xinhua news agency reported. The report also noted that the United States has conducted intelligence activities in Cuba for decades, as it does in other parts of the world.
In late March, US President Donald Trump threatened that “Cuba is next” following US attacks on Venezuela and Iran.
Last week, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel accused the United States of seeking to “take over” Cuba and called for defending national sovereignty.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 73rd anniversary of the National Rebellion Day in the western province of Pinar del Rio on July 26, Diaz-Canel said Washington was pursuing a policy aimed at “suffocating the entire people in order to take over the country.”
He said the US government had implemented a policy of “maximum economic suffocation” against the Cuban people, intensifying the blockade through an energy embargo and financial siege.
The measures had led to a severe crisis in Cuba’s power system, causing blackouts lasting for more than a day and paralyzing industrial activity, Diaz-Canel said.
The Cuban president described the blockade as a weapon of war. “To torture the Cuban people with the blockade in order to incite them to rebel against their government is a crime,” he said, noting that Washington’s unilateral coercive measures have been condemned every year by the United Nations General Assembly.
Cuba was hit by another nationwide blackout on Monday (August 3) at 17:05 pm local time (2105 GMT), according to a statement from the National Electric Union.
The union said on social media that during the process of restoring the power system, prevailing weather conditions caused disruptions to the grid, affecting the generating units that were online.
The country’s national power system had just experienced a total disconnection at 22:43 local time (0243 GMT) on Sunday and a partial collapse on Saturday that left western provinces without electricity.
Cuba has struggled to import fuel and repair its aging power plants due to the impact of US sanctions, the statement said.
Since October 2024, Cuba has suffered several nationwide blackouts due to power facility failures, hurricanes and other factors.
–IANS
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