Cuba is building a new spy base near the city of Santiago de Cuba that will be capable of tracking U.S. air and maritime military movements thousands of miles away, according to a new report from a Washington research organization.
In an analysis of satellite images, The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said it had detected the construction of the new facility intended to collect signals intelligence near a neighborhood called El Salao, east of Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city. The United States operates a base in Guantanamo Bay, about 50 miles east of the city.
In a report released Tuesday, the Center said it analyzed satellite data and concluded the site has been under construction since 2021. The site is one of four signal intelligence facilities in Cuba that the report says might be “the most likely locations supporting China‘s efforts to spy on the United States.”
The structure appears to be a large group of antennas, called a circularly disposed antenna array or CDAA, that allows analysts to determine the origin and direction of incoming high-frequency signals. They were commonly used to spy during the Cold War.
“Once operational, this CDAA will serve as a powerful tool for enhancing air and maritime domain awareness in the region, where the U.S. military and its international partners operate regularly,” the report said.
Given Cuba’s proximity to the United States,…
