The Trump administration acted before the Chinese could base missiles in Cuba: Gordon G. Chang.

As Cuba teeters on the edge of economic and political collapse, the Trump administration’s intensified naval embargo aims to prevent China from solidifying its strategic military and intelligence foothold—just 90 miles from U.S. shores.

In a post that pushes back on critics who claim U.S. actions are driven by dislike of the Cuban regime, Gordon G. Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, frames Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign as necessary to counter the threat posed by China.

Citing declassified intelligence that showed Chinese signals-intelligence collection facilities had been operating in Cuba since at least 2019, and reports of negotiations between the countries to establish a joint military training facility on the island, Chang’s argument flows from the January 29, 2026, White House executive order to ratchet up pressure on the island’s communist government.

Declaring a national emergency, President Trump’s order highlighted key U.S. security concerns that included Cuba “blatantly” allowing China and Russia to “base sophisticated military and intelligence capabilities” on the island, just 90 miles off Florida’s coast.

That proximity makes Cuba an ideal location from which to surveil the United States, writes Chang, citing a CSIS report that warned of the island’s significant threat potential to America’s southeastern seaboard—an area dense with military bases, combatant command headquarters, space launch facilities, and weapons testing ranges.

The menace, contends Chang, is already on the ground. His sources allege that China has taken over a former Soviet listening post located 20 miles south of Havana—the largest the USSR ever operated outside its borders—which Beijing reportedly assumed control of after the Soviet Union’s collapse. Chang also points to a December 2024 Center for Strategic and International Studies report that identified three additional Chinese listening posts in Cuba, including the Soviet-era Calabazar station as well as the newer facilities at Wajay and El Salao.

A 2023 Wall Street Journal report revealed a secret agreement between China and Cuba to build yet another signals-intelligence facility—a claim the Biden administration publicly denied, notes Chang. Subsequent intelligence reporting confirmed that Chinese signals-intelligence operations had already been active in Cuba since at least 2019, underscoring the depth of Beijing’s entrenched presence on the island. According to Chang, speculation about China’s intelligence activities in Cuba dates back to a 1999 visit by China’s Defense Minister, and may extend as far back as 1993.