Cubas continues support for espionage and terrorism is alive and well
Iran, Cuba and Venezuela have developed a close and cooperative relationship against the U.S. and in support of terrorist groups and states. The three regimes…
In this Oct. 7, 2011 file photo released by Cuba state media Cubadebate, convicted Cuban agent Rene Gonzalez, center, poses for a photo with youngest daughter Ivette and his father Candido. The case of the five Cuban spies isn’t the only act of espionage and terror agains the U.S. that Cuba is perpetrating. (AP Photo/Cubadebate)
Iran, Cuba and Venezuela have developed a close and cooperative relationship against the U.S. and in support of terrorist groups and states. The three regimes increasingly coordinate their policies and resources in a three way partnership aimed at counteracting and circumventing U.S. policies in the Middle East and Latin America. Within this relationship, Cuba plays a strategic role in terms of geography (proximity to the U.S.), intelligence gathering (both electronic eavesdropping and human espionage) and logistics.
In addition to its proven technical prowess to interfere and intercept U.S. telecommunications, Cuba has deployed around the world a highly effective human intelligence network. The type of espionage carried out by Ana Belén Montes, the senior U.S. defense intelligence analyst who spied for Cuba during some 16 years until her arrest in 2001, has enabled the Castro regime to amass a wealth of intelligence on U.S. vulnerabilities as well as a keen understanding of the inner-workings of the U.S. security system.
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Such information and analysis was provided to Saddam Hussein prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq and is being provided to a strategic ally like Iran. While one may argue that factors such as Irans limited military capabilities and sheer distance diminish any conventional concerns, one should expect that Tehran, in case of a U.S.-Iran conflict would launch an asymmetrical offensive against the U.S. and its European allies through surrogate terrorist states and paramilitary organizations. In such a scenario, Cuban intelligence would be invaluable to Iran and its proxies, and Cuban territory could be used by terrorist groups to launch operations against the U.S.
In specific terms Cuba has not abandoned its support for terrorist groups and states:
Cuba directly and through Venezuela continues to provide intelligence to Hamas and Hezbollah.
FILE: Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers carry the coffin during the funeral of General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi, a Guard commander killed in southern Syria by an Israeli strike. Iran has vowed revenge against Israel with “devastating thunderbolts,” after the January 18 strike in the Golan Heights that also killed six Hezbollah commanders including Jihad Mughniyeh, son of the former Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
Two Arab shiites, Ghazi Nasr Al din and Fawzi Kanaan have set-up shop in Caracas, Venezuela under the protection of the Venezuelan government. Working in coordination with the Cuban government, both are active in promoting Hezbollah and Iranian targets in South America and against the U.S. They fundraise for Hezbollah, facilitate travel for Hezbollah activists to Venezuela and through Venezuela to other countries. This is all part of the strategic alliance between Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.
Cuban military officers are acting as liaison between Venezuelan military and the narco-guerrillas of the Colombian FARC.
FILE: Cuba has acted as the meeting grounds for peace negotiation between Colombia and the FARC, but it’s also been known to support guerrilla and terrorist movements throughout Latin America, including Colombia. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)
Cuban General Leonardo Ramon Andollo, Chief of Operations of the Cuban MINFAR (Ministry of the Armed Forces), has visited Venezuela and acted as a go between the Cuban and Venezuelan military involved in drug trafficking.
Current and former members of Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), a Basque terrorist organization continue to reside in Cuba.
FILE: Amnistia banner at Zubialde promoting Amnesty, after 29 years of protests, in Biskaia Basque region, Spain (GETTY IMAGES)
While some of these terrorists are on the island as part of an accord between the Cuban and Spanish governments, others are hiding in Cuba, fugitives of Spanish justice. In February 2015, the Spanish government requested one more time the extradition from Cuba of two ETA terrorists, Jose Angel Urtiaga Martinez and Jose Ignacio Etxarte Urbieta. The two have lived in Cuba since the 1980s and are wanted by Spanish Justice.
In addition to these two there are four other ETA members living in Cuba: two with the knowledge of the Spanish government and two, Miguel Angel Apalategui “Apala” and Joseba Sarrionandia, without Cuba admitting that they are in the island.
The FBI estimates that Cuba has provided safe harbor to dozens of fugitives from U.S. justice, protected by the Castro regime.
Assata Shakur, whose real name is Joanne Deborah Chesimard, goes by several aliases. She’s among the most dangerous terror suspects wanted by the FBI. Investigators believe she’s been living in Cuba for years. (FBI)
Some of these fugitives are charged with or have been convicted of murder, kidnapping, and hijacking, and they include notorious killers of police officers in New Jersey and New Mexico, most prominent among them Joanne Chesimard, placed by the FBI in 2013 on the “Most Wanted Terrorist List.” The FBI is offering one million dollars for information leading to her apprehension.
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