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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
House Memorial 1
A memorial to the United States Secretary of State 2
urging the secretary to condemn the emerging 3
partnership between the Chinese and Cuban Governments 4
and the establishment of Chinese espionage and 5
military capabilities in Cuba. 6
7
WHEREAS, relations between Cuba and the United States of 8
America have a turbulent past, from the Spanish -American War to 9
Fidel Castro's rise to power and the Cold War and its after math, 10
and 11
WHEREAS, relations between China and the United States have 12
reached a crossroads, as the United States has stepped up 13
efforts to thwart the expansion of Chinese intelligence -14
gathering operations, and 15
WHEREAS, on February 4, 2023, the United Sta tes military 16
successfully shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of 17
South Carolina, and 18
WHEREAS, the United States military believes that the 19
balloon was used to intercept electronic signals and to monitor 20
sensitive military sites, and 21
WHEREAS, on June 8, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported 22
that China and Cuba have reached an agreement, in principle, to 23
build an electronic eavesdropping station in Cuba which would 24
result in Cuba's receipt of billions of dollars from China, 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
although this report h as been refuted by the White House, the 26
Cuban Government, and the Chinese Government, and 27
WHEREAS, several days later, an unnamed administration 28
official confirmed that, since 2019, China has been operating a 29
spy base in Cuba as part of a global effort to upgrade its 30
intelligence-gathering capabilities, and 31
WHEREAS, Cuba has a history of opening its doors to nations 32
that are adversarial to the United States in order to undermine 33
our country's interests, and 34
WHEREAS, China's willingness to embrace and par tner with 35
the Cuban Government, which has historically engaged in 36
espionage against the United States, should be a cause for 37
concern, and 38
WHEREAS, as global tensions have increased, the Chinese 39
Government has sought to build up its military and enhance it s 40
technological capability to collect and analyze signals 41
intelligence, and 42
WHEREAS, Dr. Evan Ellis, a Latin American Studies research 43
professor at the United States Army War College, has stated that 44
the establishment of a spy base "accelerates the level of 45
tactical and operational coordination between China and Cuba 46
that can be used in times of war," and 47
WHEREAS, efforts to foster a partnership between China and 48
Cuba should be condemned in light of Cuba's history of 49
antagonistic behavior toward the Unite d States as well as the 50
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Chinese Government's willingness to embrace partners that oppose 51
democracy, NOW, THEREFORE, 52
53
Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 54
55
That the United States Secretary of State is urged to 56
condemn the Chinese Government for establishing a spy base in 57
Cuba. 58
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of 59
State is urged to condemn the Chinese Government for taking 60
increasingly aggressive steps to collect sensitive information 61
regarding the United Stat es Government and its citizens. 62
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of 63
State is urged to condemn the Chinese Government for 64
establishing a potential base for Chinese troops a mere 90 miles 65
from the United States, a hostile action that threatens our 66
national security. 67
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch 68
copies of this memorial to the President of the United States, 69
the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 70
United States House of Representative s, the United States 71
Secretary of State, and each member of the Florida delegation to 72
the United States Congress. 73