With presidential race looming, Cuba’s meddling in U.S elections must be taken seriously | Opinion

With the already nerve-wracking 2024 presidential elections approaching, a concerning report reveals attempts by Cuba to undermine our democratic process by targeting Florida-based and national political candidates who dislike the island’s repressive government.

A recent report from the U.S. intelligence community reveals that Cuba attempted to influence the U.S. 2022 midterm elections. Few details of the interference uncovered or the damage done were revealed, but it was enough to warrant concern.

Of course, the midterms were probably a practice run. If Cuba tried it two years ago, they’ll likely try again in 2024 when with a high-stakes presidential election on the line.

Meddling in 2016

While other foreign adversaries, such as Russia and China have also pulled off similar shenanigans, specifically during the 2016 presidential elections, the United States should be ready to thwart this intrusion from an enemy just 90 miles away.

The report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, revealed the Cuban government built relationships with sympathetic media outlets. It then used them to spread derogatory content about politicians who oppose the communist regime. The declassified portion of the intelligence assessment does not say how effective Havana’s influence campaign was on Florida’s elections, nor does it name specific individuals who were targeted.

But it is safe to say that Cuba would like to target Florida resident and presidential candidate Donald Trump, a staunch anti-communist candidate who rolled back Obama era-concessions meant to thaw relations between the two countries. Cuba would not like to see Trump reelected.

And It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Cuba would also likely be targeting Cuban-American members of Congress, many of who reside in South Florida, along with other local politicos known for their criticism of the island government. Needless to say, this is an unacceptable effort by a foreign power to sway American voters and elections, and it must be addressed.

Alleged spy

The elections-interference report came two weeks after the arrest of a once highly placed analyst assigned to the U.S. Interest Section in Havana. He allegedly was working for the Cubans.

Víctor Manuel Rocha, 73, living among us in Miami, had been a long-time U.S. diplomat now said to be passing information to the Cubans. He is awaiting a January court date.

All this is further proof that Cuba indeed belongs on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, which Cuba has bitterly refuted.

White House officials were mum on whether the United States plans any retaliatory response to Cuba’s election meddling. Still, Florida politicians, the likely targets, said the Biden administration should do more to respond to a threat they view as pernicious and ongoing.

“The Biden administration must immediately condemn these actions, make clear they will not be tolerated and expel Cuban diplomats from U.S. soil,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida told McClatchy. “Continued failure to treat Cuba like the tyrannical spying regime that it is only emboldens it.”

The senator is right.

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez said during a press conference in Doral that he believes he and fellow Republicans Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Mario Diaz-Balart were targeted, though he said he had not been told that directly by U.S. intelligence officials.

“They redacted a whole bunch from the report, but you can infer from what you can read who exactly it was they were talking about,” he said.

Diaz-Balart called it a “wake-up” call and said the United States must take a stand now: “Now is the time to impose tough consequences, including tighter sanctions, on the malevolent dictatorship that seeks to damage our democracy.”

The Biden administration — and the rest of us — must affirm that the integrity of our elections is not up for debate.