Opinion

Cuba spent decades recruiting American spies. Now Washington is turning the tables on Havana

From Ana Belén Montes to Victor Manuel Rocha, Cuban intelligence penetrated the Pentagon and National Security Council

By Rick de la Torre Fox News

Published October 25, 2026 9:53am EDT

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Rubio urges Cuban dissidents to partner with CIA

President Donald Trump speaks in Fort Myers, Florida, about taking care of Cuba as Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges Cuban dissidents to partner with the CIA.

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Cuba’s government has spent decades recruiting Americans to betray their country. It objects to Secretary of State Marco Rubio inviting Cubans to cooperate with the CIA. Havana apparently believes espionage should remain a privilege of the dictatorship. The Trump administration is right to disagree.

Rubio is challenging a comfortable assumption in Washington: that Cuba is too broke to matter. A regime unable to keep the lights on can still penetrate a government, compromise an intelligence officer, and help America’s adversaries. Poverty has never disqualified a country from espionage. It can make espionage one of its more valuable exports.

I am an American of Cuban descent who spent more than two decades as a CIA operations officer, including service as chief of station in Latin America. That background leaves me with little patience for the assumption that a failing economy must produce an incompetent security apparatus. Dictatorships allocate resources according to what keeps them in power. Feeding the population and protecting the regime are different priorities. Havana has made its choice repeatedly.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio........

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