Published Jul 25, 2026, 3:00 AM EDT
The U.S. accuses Cuba, China, and others of covert influence while dismissing scrutiny of Israel-linked spending and pressure on American policy.
The Trump administration has accused Cuba of infiltrating the highest levels of the U.S. government, cultivating American activists and encouraging domestic unrest. The sweeping allegation arrives days after President Donald Trump revived claims about Chinese election interference and as his administration continues to dismiss concerns about Israel’s visible influence over American elections and foreign policy.
State Department Alleges Decades of Cuban Subversion
The State Department’s 100-page report, “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” describes Havana as a unique threat despite its limited economic and military power. It accuses the Cuban government of infiltrating American institutions, recruiting sympathetic activists, supporting left-wing militant groups and using organizations inside the United States to advance Cuban interests. The report connects alleged Cuban influence to events ranging from the growth of militant left-wing organizations to protests following George Floyd’s death and pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. It names organizations including the Democratic Socialists of America, the National Network on Cuba, the Communist Party USA, CODEPINK, Black Alliance for Peace and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. It also singles out political commentator Hasan Piker, Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, journalist Amy Goodman and activist Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar. As evidence, it points to the National Network on Cuba’s plan to organize demonstrations at military bases, federal buildings and Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities if the United States threatens or attacks Cuba. It says Black Alliance for Peace circulated a guide identifying 1,335 military and law-enforcement facilities, while citing Cuba-related travel, solidarity events, anti-embargo advocacy and favorable statements about Cuba by the individuals it names. The report describes activists and organizations as Cuban “front groups and fellow travelers,” but criticism of U.S. policy toward Cuba or participation in a solidarity movement does not necessarily establish that someone works for the Cuban government. Some of the report rests on documented espionage cases. Cuban intelligence recruited Ana Belén Montes, a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiring to commit espionage. Former U.S. diplomat Manuel Rocha pleaded guilty in 2024 to secretly acting as an agent of Cuba for decades. Those cases demonstrate that Havana has successfully recruited people with access to sensitive government information. The report goes further, however, by placing overt political advocacy, ideological sympathy and covert government direction along the same continuum. Cuba rejected the document as a pretext for maintaining American economic pressure. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel characterized the administration’s campaign as a new form of McCarthyism.
