Rubio Calls Cuba a Spy Superpower, Citing 100-Page U.S. Influence Report

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 2

Marco Rubio said Cuba has embedded spies in top U.S. institutions and called the island an “influence and espionage superpower” posing a national security threat 90 miles from U.S. shores.
A 100-page State Department report underpins that warning, linking Cuba to U.S. influence operations, radical activism and networks Rubio said pressure lawmakers through anti-ICE, pro-Maduro and pro-Hamas protests.
Rubio pointed to past penetrations including former ambassador Manuel Rocha—sentenced to 15 years for acting as a secret Cuban agent—and ex-DIA analyst Ana Belén Montes, whom he called a historic intelligence failure.
He also said Cuban influence operations have backed leftist insurgencies across Latin America for decades, widening the threat beyond U.S. domestic politics.
Critics say the report is a scare tactic that could be used to justify military action, a charge Rubio rejected as he accused some U.S. academics and media figures of sympathizing with Havana.