China may be eavesdropping on the United States from four spy facilities in Cuba, according to a report published last week by Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The report comes five months after the CSIS said Cuba was building a new radar site likely to be capable of spying on the U.S. near its Guantanamo Bay naval base.
The CSIS report detailed that satellite imagery and open-source analysis "offer an unprecedented look into these facilities and provide clues as to how they could be used to spy on sensitive communications and activities in the region."
The four sites "have undergone observable upgrades in recent years, even as Cuba has faced increasingly dire economic prospects that have drawn it closer to China," CSIS stated.
"In light of these developments, the United States and its regional partners should carefully monitor China's growing role in Cuba, harden sensitive communications, and push for transparency to reduce the likelihood of miscalculation."
Cuba's surveillance capabilities have long thought to be linked to China.
The CSIS said Cuba's proximity to the southern United States, "and the Caribbean makes it a prime location for collecting signals intelligence (SIGINT) on the region," the authors wrote.
SIGINT refers to intercepting and analyzing electronic signals, including phone calls, emails, and non-communications signals such as radar.