Springs Times

Washington, D.C. – On June 14, Congressman Lamborn, joined by U.S. Representatives Mark Alford (MO-04), Scott DesJarlais (TN-04), Pat Fallon (TX-04), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Lisa McClain (MI-09), and Mike Waltz (FL-06), urged Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to cancel his upcoming trip to China. In the letter, the members of the House Armed Services Committee expressed severe concern over the breaking news of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy facility in Cuba and called on Secretary Blinken to cancel his upcoming trip to China.

“The Biden Administration has attempted to downplay China's massive investment in a spy facility less than 100 miles away from the American coastline,” said Congressman Lamborn. “This is a provocative action that mandates a strong response. The news of Beijing’s several billion-dollar expansion of their spy facility in Cuba must immediately result in Secretary Blinken canceling his planned trip to China.”

“History shows that appeasement doesn’t work. I’m proud to join my House Armed Services’ colleagues urging Secretary Blinken to cancel his planned trip to Beijing in response to China’s investment of a spy station in Cuba,” said Rep. Mark Alford. “We need to return to peace through strength and start deterring China from further acts of aggression before it’s too late.”

"The Biden State Department's inaction regarding China's plan to incorporate Cuba into its intelligence apparatus is appalling," said Rep. Pat Fallon. "Yet again, the Biden Administration is caught flat-footed in the face of a national security threat. Secretary Blinken needs to send a strong signal to the CCP and cancel his planned trip to China."

“Communist Cuba has been assisting adversaries of the United States dating back to the Cold War, and with this latest escalation, it is abundantly clear that American weakness on the world stage under this administration has done nothing to deter them,” said Rep. Nancy Mace. “We strongly condemn the agreement between China and Cuba to invest in a multi-billion-dollar electronic eavesdropping facility in Cuba. This partnership poses a grave threat to the protection of America’s national security. It is a blatant disregard for privacy and an alarming escalation of China's surveillance capabilities. We must remain vigilant in countering these authoritarian regimes' attempts to undermine freedom. We must re-commit to peace through strength and show that America will not be taken advantage of anymore.”

Cuba’s agreement with China to host a spy facility follows months of provocative actions from Beijing. Just last week, an American destroyer in the Taiwan Strait was cut across by a Chinese warship. Earlier in the year, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-operated spy balloon flew across the entirety of the United States airspace before being shot down by the Department of Defense off the coast of South Carolina. Following the discovery of the spy balloon, Secretary Blinken postponed his scheduled trip to China.

The Biden administration’s policies towards the communist regime of Cuba have reversed many of the Trump administration’s policies to hold Cuba accountable for its human rights concerns and security violations. In February, the Cuban Border Guard and Ministry of Foreign Relations took part in a tour of U.S. Coast Guard facilities at the invitation of President Biden. This past year, nearly 250,000 Cubans, over 2% of the island’s population, have been detained while attempting to illegally cross the U.S. border.

The several billion-dollar agreement between the communist regimes to expand the spy facility now puts the CCP’s spy capabilities within 100 miles of key southeastern military bases, including U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters in Tampa, among others.

Original source can be found here