Cuba's Influence on American Politics

We begin this hour with Cuba.

The State Department issuing a stunning new report accusing the Cuban government of

fostering a decades long anti American network

of left wing activist organizations in the U S.

The report indicating Havana has been using ideological networks and

organizations to advance its agenda and undermine American ideals.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the regime quote the

leading sponsor of radical leftism and third world ism in the United States.

More on that in just a moment.

Good morning and welcome to a brand

new hour of National Report. We appreciate you spending part of your day with us.

I'm Edie Hill and I'm Chris Alenzo and let's take a look at some of the what left

wing organizations implicated in this Cuban influence campaign.

All of them American groups.

Here they are Code Pink, ICAP, the People's Forum, Democrat Socialists of America,

the National Lawyers Guild and the National Network on Cuba.

The report comes as the Trump

administration has shown heightened interest in toppling the communist regime.

Let's get right to senior correspondent John Huddy. He has more on this.

John, good morning.

Edie, Krishna, good morning.

So the State Department report is titled Cuba,

the Capital of 21st Century Communism.

It's 100 pages long and really lays out Cuba's seven decades of subversion

against the United States,

including covert operations within the U S.

carried out by Cuban agents, sleeper agents,

associates, along with working as a quote Ford operating base for

a rotating case of hostile foreign powers,

notably Russia,

China and Iran.

But the report also

focuses in on the national network

on Cuba and what's called its National Rapid Response Plan.

So the National Network on Cuba, you guys just talked about this, is a coalition

of more than 60 organizations in the U S.

with links to the Cuban government.

Members, as you mentioned, include Code Pink, the Socialist Workers Party,

Democratic Socialists of America, various communist groups.

I mean, the list goes on and on. You can see some of it right there.

The National Rapid Response Plan calls for,

quote, coordinated nationwide actions within 24 hours of a U S.

military attack or the imminent threat of one.

So that could mean protests,

riots, or according to the State Department report,

acts of domestic terrorism targeting ICE facilities, federal buildings and U S.

military bases.

As the group's own website reads,

it says the National Network on Cuba stands in full solidarity and support of

Raul Castro,

hero of the Republic of Cuba.

We will continue

to support the Cuban people and their defense of the

Cuban revolution and fight to stop all escalation against Cuba's sovereignty.

And then it goes on to say, long live the revolution.

Now, this would not be the first time that Cuba has been

involved with potentially or trying to influence domestic terrorism in the United

States carried out by radical leftist groups.

It happened back in the 70s with the so called Weather Underground.

Cuban regime officials recruited members of that group.

You see some, the one that

posted. for them there, to carry out attacks in the United States, which they did.

Now Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a link to the State Department report

on X and then going on to write, for more than six decades,

the Cuban regime has been the

leading sponsor of radical leftism and third worldism in the United States.

The State Department is disposing the full history of

Cuban espionage and subversion in our country.

The American people deserve to know.