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The visit of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, to Havana raised numerous questions, but there was one detail in the statement from the Cuban regime that particularly stood out: the insistence on denying the existence of “foreign military or intelligence bases” on the island.
The statement appeared this Thursday in an official note from the Revolutionary Government regarding the meeting held between a U.S. delegation led by Ratcliffe and representatives from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), a visit that the regime itself acknowledged was a result of a request made by Washington.
"Once again, it has been made clear that the Island does not harbor, support, finance, or allow terrorist or extremist organizations; nor are there foreign military or intelligence bases on its territory," the statement noted.
The reference did not go unnoticed, as the text does not explain why Havana chose to include that point so explicitly in the midst of a meeting supposedly focused on terrorism and bilateral cooperation.
The statement comes amid growing international concern over Cuba's strategic ties with Russia, China, and Iran, especially following reports of alleged Chinese intelligence activities on the island and the strengthening of military cooperation between Moscow and Havana in recent years.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) identified at least 12 Chinese signals intelligence facilities in Cuba, with four main sites: Bejucal, El Wajay, Calabazar, and El Salao, the latter located in Santiago de Cuba, just 70 miles from the Guantanamo Naval Base.
The Biden administration had already confirmed the existence of these facilities in June 2023, operational since at least 2019, and Marco Rubio accused Cuba of hosting Chinese intelligence in late April 2026, warning that "we will not allow any foreign military, intelligence, or security apparatus to operate with impunity just 90 miles from the shores of the United States."
Satellite images confirmed the progressive expansion of those facilities since 2021, with new expansions documented in May 2025.
Regarding Russia, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed before Congress on Wednesday that Russian warships, including the submarine Kazán, have repeatedly utilized Cuban ports.
Although the Cuban regime has repeatedly denied these accusations, the fact that the issue is mentioned in a statement about a visit from the CIA suggests that it may have been part of the discussions held between both parties.
The Cuban government also took the opportunity to insist that the island does not pose a threat to the national security of the United States and that there are no grounds to keep it on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
“The Cuban side categorically demonstrated that Cuba does not pose a threat to the national security of the U.S.,” stated the official text.
The visit of the CIA director to Cuba is an unusual occurrence and takes place during one of the most delicate moments for the Cuban regime, marked by a profound economic crisis, blackouts, shortages, and an unprecedented migratory exodus.
The immediate background was the secret meeting of the State Department in Havana on April 10, the first landing of an official U.S. airplane in Cuba since 2016, where topics such as the release of political prisoners, the opening of the internet via Starlink, and the presence of foreign groups on the island were discussed.
The publication of the meeting by the Cuban regime also seems to seek a political and symbolic impact, showing that Washington keeps channels of communication open with Havana despite the deterioration of bilateral relations.
The question that remains after today's statement is whether the CIA, which specifically requested this meeting, accepted the regime's version regarding the absence of foreign facilities, or if that point will continue to be the main obstacle to any agreement that involves removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
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