State Department accuses Cuba of running a decades-long espionage and influence network inside the U.S.

The U.S. State Department has released a 100-page report accusing Cuba of running a sophisticated, seven-decade espionage and political influence network inside the United States. Endorsed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the document alleges that Cuban intelligence penetrated the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and the State Department, while cultivating ties with American universities and progressive activist groups like the Democratic Socialists of America. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla dismissed the report as a fallacy, while academic experts suggest the claims are being used to fuel a domestic "red scare" ahead of the U.S. midterm elections amid a crippling U.S. oil blockade on the island.

State Department Cuba espionage report

• ▪The State Department report alleges that Cuban intelligence has infiltrated the highest levels of the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and the State Department
• ▪The U.S. State Department released a report on July 20, 2026, accusing Cuba of running a decades-long espionage and political influence network inside the United States

Historical Cuban intelligence operations

• ▪The Wasp Network, discovered in 1998, is identified as the largest Cuban spy ring ever uncovered in the United States
• ▪The State Department report highlights several high-profile convicted Cuban spies, including former U.S. Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha, Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Ana Belén Montes, and State Department analyst Walter Kendall Myers

Cuba left-wing connections allegations

• ▪The State Department report alleges that Cuba has cultivated ties with modern American left-wing organizations, including the Democratic Socialists of America, Code Pink, Antifa, and anti-ICE groups
• ▪The State Department report claims that Cuba viewed American colleges and universities as recruiting grounds to identify politically sympathetic students for future placement in government or private-sector jobs

Expert criticism of report

• ▪Dr. Philip Brenner hypothesized that the capabilities of the Cuban intelligence agency have been depleted, with most analysis conducted on the island using open sources
• ▪American University professor Dr. Philip Brenner criticized the State Department report, stating it lacks credibility and appears to be an effort to revive McCarthyism

Domestic political motivations

• ▪Dr. Philip Brenner argued that the report's targeting of domestic left-wing groups like the Democratic Socialists of America serves to smear progressive Democratic candidates ahead of the November midterm elections
• ▪Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla dismissed the State Department report as a fallacy and political propaganda designed to justify Washington's economic war

U.S.-Cuba oil blockade tensions

• ▪The Trump administration has enforced a near-complete oil blockade on Cuba, which has contributed to repeated nationwide electrical blackouts on the island
• ▪President Donald Trump redesignated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism in 2025 and expanded economic sanctions against the Cuban government