State Department Frames Cuba as Major Threat via Left-Wing Groups

    The report comes amid growing U.S. efforts to overturn Cuba’s government.

    By , a staff writer at Foreign Policy.

    A man wears a hat that reads "Make Cuba Great Again"
    People participate in the Liberation Day Rally in Miami on July 11. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
    1. Get audio access with any FP subscription.

      Subscribe Now

      ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN

    A 100-page report released on Monday by the U.S. State Department argues that Cuba has sought to bring down the United States through decades of subversive operations, many of them tied to U.S. domestic left-wing causes.

    The report frames Cuba as more dangerous than U.S. officials have typically done in the past. According to the report, Cuban “agents and operatives” operate within “hundreds” of organizations and “collectively represent one of the single largest, most sophisticated and dangerous vectors for hostile foreign influence in modern American history.”

    A 100-page report released on Monday by the U.S. State Department argues that Cuba has sought to bring down the United States through decades of subversive operations, many of them tied to U.S. domestic left-wing causes.

    The report frames Cuba as more dangerous than U.S. officials have typically done in the past. According to the report, Cuban “agents and operatives” operate within “hundreds” of organizations and “collectively represent one of the single largest, most sophisticated and dangerous vectors for hostile foreign influence in modern American history.”

    Until very recently, Trump administration officials have not usually mentioned Cuba as a significant threat to the United States, frequently focusing instead on Russia, China, or Iran.

    The report notably dives into domestic politics by including the prominent U.S. political group Democratic Socialists of America among “front groups and fellow travelers” aligned with Cuba, pointing in part to trips by members of the group to Cuba. Democratic Socialists of America has supported high-profile political figures such as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The group did not immediately return a request for comment.

    Sections of the report are devoted to historical examples of Cuba’s ties to U.S. left-wing groups, including the Black Panthers and Weather Underground, organizations that were at their most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Other sections of the report deal with Cuba’s support for the left-wing groups in South America during the 1980s.

    The report draws a line from these events to Cuba’s alleged influence over modern-day political life in the United States. “Many of the most significant upheavals in recent American political history – from the George Floyd riots to the rise of Antifa to the explosion of pro-terrorist activism on American college campuses – can be linked, in some way, shape, or form, to Cuban influence,” the report concludes.

    The report does not cast Cuba’s actions as a reaction to the United States’ own operations, which have sought to overturn Cuba’s government through military action, assassination, sanctions, and political pressure, including via the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. Instead, the report frames Cuba’s actions as part of a “revolution against Western civilization itself.”

    But some experts argue that the report’s connections between Cuba’s once-ambitious Cold War operations and its present, sanctions-weakened condition is an overstatement.

    “[Cuban] intelligence is patient and capable, and none of that is in dispute,” wrote Orlando Pérez, a professor of political science at the University of North Texas at Dallas who focuses on South America. However, “[R]ecasting a blacked-out, collapsing state as a hemispheric mastermind converts weakness into menace.”

    Since January, the United States has turned up the pressure on Cuba through increased sanctions and a blockade on energy, which has led to severe energy shortages on the island. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States will turn to Cuba after it concludes the ongoing war with Iran.

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents came to the United States from Cuba, has long sought to put pressure on Cuba’s communist government. On Monday, he introduced the report by posting on X that the “Cuban regime has been the leading sponsor of radical leftism.”

    Cuba has for decades resisted U.S. attempts to bring down its communist regime, however, making it unclear how the Trump administration might seek to further influence its government, short of military action.

    Sam Skove is a staff writer at Foreign Policy. X: @samuelskove

    Read More

    • Cars are seen parked in front of a building in Havana, Cuba.

      Does Cuba Really Have Iranian Drones?

      Experts say Trump is laying the pretext for U.S. military action against the island. This article has an audio recording

    • Tourists ride in an old American car used as a taxi in Havana on Feb. 8.

      Is Cuba Really Next?

      The fallout from the Iran conflict and the approaching U.S. midterms may change Trump’s calculations. This article has an audio recording

    • A woman takes part in a demonstration against the U.S. sanctions on Cuba in Havana on April 7.

      Washington’s Cuba Policy Is Self-Sabotage

      The U.S. blockade is destroying Havana’s chances of becoming stable and democratic. This article has an audio recording

    Stories Readers Liked

    • An illustration depicting a man submerged up to his nose in water. The wavy water is divided horizontally into three color bands that mimic a flag: white foam at the very top peaks, a deep blue middle section filled with bubbles, and a red lower section covering his neck and suit jacket. His blue eyes look upward with a wide, strained expression.
      An illustration depicting a man submerged up to his nose in water. The wavy water is divided horizontally into three color bands that mimic a flag: white foam at the very top peaks, a deep blue middle section filled with bubbles, and a red lower section covering his neck and suit jacket. His blue eyes look upward with a wide, strained expression.

      As the Tide Turns Against Putin, Beware the Drowning Man

      By Peter Frankopan
    • Negotiators from the United States, Canada, and five European countries converse after finishing the draft of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington on March 18, 1949.
      Negotiators from the United States, Canada, and five European countries converse after finishing the draft of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington on March 18, 1949.

      Trans-Atlanticism Isn’t Dead—It’s Being Renegotiated

      By Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer
    • An illustration of a vintage-style map featuring North America and parts of Europe and Africa. Overlaid on the map are 3D red brick walls shaped exactly like the borders of the contiguous United States and Alaska, casting long shadows to the right.
      An illustration of a vintage-style map featuring North America and parts of Europe and Africa. Overlaid on the map are 3D red brick walls shaped exactly like the borders of the contiguous United States and Alaska, casting long shadows to the right.

      America, the Once Global Nation

      By Odd Arne Westad
    • A painting depicts Roosevelt on horseback, his right hand raising a sword in the air as he leads a cavalry charge of other U.S. soldiers on horseback. The horses' eyes are wide and bulging with fear, and there are scattered starbursts around the scene indicating artillery fire.
      A painting depicts Roosevelt on horseback, his right hand raising a sword in the air as he leads a cavalry charge of other U.S. soldiers on horseback. The horses' eyes are wide and bulging with fear, and there are scattered starbursts around the scene indicating artillery fire.
    • An illustration showing a pair of hands tightly wringing out an American flag. Water droplets shaped like missiles squeeze out of the twisted fabric and fall toward a puddle shaped like the map of Iran on a red background.
      An illustration showing a pair of hands tightly wringing out an American flag. Water droplets shaped like missiles squeeze out of the twisted fabric and fall toward a puddle shaped like the map of Iran on a red background.
    • A rocket is seen from a great distance, flying through a deep blue sky during military drills. Several parallel plumes of smoke are seen alongside the rocket's path.
      A rocket is seen from a great distance, flying through a deep blue sky during military drills. Several parallel plumes of smoke are seen alongside the rocket's path.
    • A creative illustration against a pale yellow background showing a garden planter containing a dense green hedge. Five human arms emerge from the hedge, with four of the hands holding small flags of China, Russia, the United States, and the European Union, while the fifth hand holds the flag of India.
      A creative illustration against a pale yellow background showing a garden planter containing a dense green hedge. Five human arms emerge from the hedge, with four of the hands holding small flags of China, Russia, the United States, and the European Union, while the fifth hand holds the flag of India.
    • Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks off stage at the end of a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
      Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks off stage at the end of a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
    • Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin raises his right hand in a salute to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is walking a level lower in a red-carpeted auditorium.
      Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Shengmin raises his right hand in a salute to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is walking a level lower in a red-carpeted auditorium.
    • An aerial photo shows Doha in the booming petrostate of Qatar.
      An aerial photo shows Doha in the booming petrostate of Qatar.

    NATO and Ukraine

      About ten soldiers in camouflage combat fatigues fan out, many holding rifles, on a rocky shore as they exit a small armored military boat. The scene is framed by a blue sky and lush green plants in the foreground.
      About ten soldiers in camouflage combat fatigues fan out, many holding rifles, on a rocky shore as they exit a small armored military boat. The scene is framed by a blue sky and lush green plants in the foreground.

      Washington Shouldn’t Fear NATO Expansion

      New allies bring powerful assets—whatever Donald Trump thinks. This article has an audio recording