The United States has reportedly deployed additional intelligence personnel and assets to Cuba as the Trump administration intensifies diplomatic, economic and covert pressure on the island’s communist government.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration has expanded U.S. intelligence operations in Cuba as part of a broader effort to force major political and economic changes on the island, according to two people familiar with the plans.
The increased activity reportedly includes the recent deployment of spies and other intelligence assets, although the precise size of the operation, the agencies involved and the specific missions being pursued remain undisclosed because of the sensitive nature of the work, Politico reported.
One person familiar with the effort said the United States had “recently sent spies and assets to Cuba.” A second source characterized the move as an expansion of the CIA’s “presence” on the island.
The reported buildup could support several possible objectives. Those include recruiting Cuban government officials or private citizens to cooperate with Washington, gathering intelligence on the country’s leadership and institutions, and preparing options for a more direct U.S. response if diplomatic and economic measures fail.
One source described the expansion as “a key tactical step” that could eventually support a U.S. military incursion. The person also cautioned that “the outlines of any such operation are far from clear.”
The CIA, White House, Defense Intelligence Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment.
President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to use the full range of conventional tools available to increase pressure on Havana, according to one person familiar with the planning.
The administration “is going to pursue all the conventional tools, including intelligence community resources,” the source said, while adding that Trump continues to “prefer diplomacy” as the means of achieving U.S. objectives.
The effort reflects Cuba’s continued importance to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even as the administration remains heavily focused on the ongoing war with Iran.
“Iran doesn’t need to be solved before we go there,” one person familiar with the plans said, adding that Cuba is “a huge priority of Rubio’s.”
The intelligence expansion is one component of a wider campaign that has also included tougher economic restrictions, increased diplomatic pressure and public messaging directed at Cuba’s government.
The administration has imposed an energy blockade, promoted communications challenging Havana’s leadership and pursued legal action against former Cuban leader Raul Castro.
Those measures have coincided with a worsening electricity crisis across Cuba. The island experienced another major outage Monday and has endured repeated national and regional blackouts in recent months.
The Trump administration has tightened sanctions while cutting off Venezuelan oil and other fuel deliveries that had helped support Cuba’s aging electrical network.
The grid has also been weakened by decades of limited investment, obsolete Soviet-era power plants, chronic fuel shortages and recurring breakdowns at major thermoelectric facilities.
Together, those problems have left large sections of the country without electricity for hours at a time on an almost daily basis. The outages have disrupted hospitals, schools, businesses, communications and other essential services while increasing public anger toward the government.
Washington maintains that the sanctions and fuel restrictions are intended to deny Cuba’s leadership access to resources and compel political and economic reforms.
Cuban officials, however, have blamed the U.S. embargo and sanctions for deepening the fuel shortage and accelerating the deterioration of the national power grid.
The reported expansion of U.S. intelligence activity suggests the administration is preparing to sustain pressure on Cuba through several channels simultaneously, ranging from diplomacy and economic restrictions to covert operations and possible military planning.
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