Last year, major media outlets began speculating about “China spy bases” in Cuba. 

“A Chinese spy station less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States,” a CBN News anchor said.

The News Nation commented that the White House confirmed “China has had a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019.” 

Meanwhile, CBS News affirmed that there are “electronic spying facilities in Cuba.”

The story resurfaced last month, when a D.C. think tank called CSIS claimed China was likely using four locations to spy on the United States. Three of them are on the outskirts of Havana.

There is one problem with the China spy base story. There’s no evidence there actually is a China spy base in Cuba. Neither CSIS nor any media outlet has provided evidence to substantiate this claim. All the reporting has been based on statements from anonymous U.S. officials.

So we decided to see for ourselves.

On the Ground in Bejucal, Calabazar and Wajay

Bejucal is 16 miles from downtown Havana. We went around the town and talked to the people on the street.

• Reporter: “Hello, excuse me. My name is Liz Oliva. I'm a journalist. I'm looking for the China military base around here.”

• Man on the Street 1: “That question makes no sense because I’ve never heard of a China base being here in Cuba.” 

• Woman on the Street 1: “No, I've never heard that.”

• Woman on the Street 2: “As far as I know, no. What we have is a base for people serving in the military.”

• Reporter: “And the military base is Chinese?”

• Woman on the Street 2: “No.”

• Reporter: “Where is it from?”

• Woman on the Street 2: “From here, Cuba.”

Since the 2000s, media outlets and politicians in the United States have claimed China is using Bejucal to spy on the U.S.

In fact, Senator Marco Rubio said during a Republican debate in 2016 that a good deal between the United States and Cuba would be if Cuba “kicks out the Chinese listening station in Bejucal.”

Neither Marco Rubio nor any media outlet has presented evidence that Bejucal is a China spy base. That hasn’t stopped Google from identifying Bejucal as a "China and Russia Intelligence Base.”

On our journey, we met a farmer who works near the supposed “China spy base” and he confirmed that there is a military base there, but it’s Cuban. 

Next, we went to Calabazar. We passed near the entrance, and we were able to see some antennas from the road. What could those antennas be used for? We shared these images with former CIA analyst Fulton Armstrong.

“That looked like really old technology,” Fulton said.  “And it's sort of an insult to the Chinese, if you're going to say that this is the future of their intel collection against the United States,” he said.

Wajay is a town located less than two miles from the José Martí International Airport. 

CSIS claimed satellite images showed heightened security at the Wajay facility. The view from the ground showed something else entirely.

• “That’s the antenna field?” Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández asked Idilvia, a woman who lives next to the Wajay facility known as El Campo de Antenas.

• “Exactly,” responded Idilvia. “We live on this side. On the other side, is a residential neighborhood, some buildings, the high school, a daycare center. In front is downtown Wajay.”

From Idilvia's house, you can see one of the guard posts. It seems abandoned.

“There have been robberies there just as I was robbed once,” Idilvia said.

We could witness that security guards at the Wajay facility are only visible at the main entrance.

The guard who greeted us was an elderly woman. She’s a civilian employed by the Vigilance and Protection Corps, or CVP.

The CVP is a state agency that provides security services at schools, hospitals, stores and hotels. Most of its members are elderly.

• “I’ve lived here since 2005 and have worked on a farm near here since '98,” Idilvia said.

• “Have you heard the latest news that this is one of the facilities being used by the Chinese government to spy on the U.S. government?” Asked Oliva Fernández.

• “Oh, no, never, never. But you know how rumors spread. I haven't heard 

anything about that. Chinese?,” Idilvia said.

On the other hand, Adria, her neighbor, said that she doesn't know what the purpose of that base is, but she’d never heard of that rumor.

“I’ve never seen anyone unusual there. Only the workers coming and going,” she explained.

So what did we learn in trying to visit Wajay, Calabazar and Bejucal? All three facilities appear to be run by the military or Interior Ministry. They also have antennas. But what does this have to do with China or spying on the United States?

“There's no evidence that the Chinese are present there,” said former CIA analyst Fulton Armstrong. “There are legitimate reasons, non-espionage reasons, for countries to want to have antennas.”

“What's the real threat here? Or is it really an opportunity for us to build another case against Cuba, China, and to build up these aggressive policies that we have in place against these two countries?” Fulton said.