Amid strong criticism over the alleged expansion of electronic espionage bases in Cuba linked to China, ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel decided to make a joke to refute such accusations.
The president opted for a meme. Supposedly, he bought a digital image on the site "Deposit Photos" showing a baseball field base and claimed that those were the "Chinese bases installed in Cuba".
The eve, a new report revealed the growth of Chinese electronic espionage stations in Cuba, including new construction about 70 miles from the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay.
This study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a group of experts based in Washington, followed up on a report from The Wall Street Journal last year that pointed out negotiations between China and Cuba to strengthen ties in defense and intelligence, including a new joint military training and espionage facility on the island.
Satellite images and information from open sources evaluated by the CSIS showed an unprecedented view of four active sites in Cuba capable of conducting electronic surveillance operations: Bejucal, Calabazar, El Wajay, and El Salao, the latter in Santiago de Cuba.
Since the first allegations, the Cuban and Chinese regimes have denied the existence of these facilities.
After the publication of the CSIS study, China denied and dismissed as "a tale" on Wednesday the accusations that it runs espionage bases on the Caribbean island.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, highlighted in a press conference "the fraternal relationship between China and Cuba", and described it as a "model of mutual assistance between developing nations". Likewise, she added that the allegations from the CSIS "lack foundation".
Several Cubans reacted indignantly to Diaz-Canel's joke on his page on the social network X. Some remembered that the same jokes were made by Fidel Castro during the Missile Crisis, and it was confirmed that the U.S. was right about the presence of the Russian missiles.
Be funny, because in the end the truth will come to light! As if you were not capable of allowing China, Russia, or anyone who pays well to set up bases in Cuba. You are the prostitutes of the Caribbean," replied the profile "Ignorant Hunter 2" to Díaz-Canel.
On the other hand, the user from X, "Liborio en Cuba," replied that "there is no money to buy milk for children or to fix buildings, but there is money to buy an image and make a meme."
On Tuesday, Congressman Carlos A. Giménez called on President Joe Biden's administration to "take action against Communist China and Cuba under Castro," after alleging that the Asian country supposedly has spy bases on the island.
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