On July 20, 2026, the US State Department published a 100-page report accusing Cuba of running a decades-long espionage and subversion campaign targeting the United States government and left-wing activists nationwide [1, 2, 3, 4]. The report alleges Cuban intelligence infiltrated the highest reaches of the US government, although there is disagreement on specific agencies involved. One claim states infiltration reached the State Department, National Security Council, and Pentagon, while others are less specific [1, 2, 3, 4].
The report describes Cuba as “the capital of 21st-century communism” and accuses it of waging a campaign designed to undermine America from within by espionage, sabotage, proxy networks, and building revolutionary infrastructure on US soil [2, 3, 4]. It says Cuba has recruited and cultivated generations of American activists and backed an unprecedented wave of left-wing terrorism [1, 2, 3, 4]. It singles out left-leaning US activists and organizations such as Hasan Piker, Chris Smalls, and the Democratic Socialists of America, calling them "front groups and fellow travelers" for Havana [2].
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the report exposes “the full history of Cuban espionage and subversion in our country,” calling Cuba the leading sponsor of radical leftism and Third Worldism in the US for more than six decades [3, 4]. The report also puts the campaign’s length at nearly seven decades, making it one of the most durable and damaging foreign intelligence penetrations in American history [3, 4]. Historical context includes over 600 CIA and exile assassination attempts against Fidel Castro [1].
Alongside the report's release, the US imposed new sanctions targeting Cuba’s tourism ministry and several state-owned companies [2]. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the accusations as “manufactured pretext to continue Washington’s cruel and criminal economic war against the island,” accusing US politicians of concocting plans serving narrow interests [4].
The report marks the latest escalation in US-Cuba tensions, with the Biden administration pledging to monitor and counter Cuba’s alleged subversion efforts.
