Evidence is incomplete or still developing; a future update may resolve it. Learn more in Methodology.
Independent evidence confirms whether Cuba hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility aimed at collecting sensitive U.S. national security information.
The historical Lourdes SIGINT station near Havana was the Soviet Union’s—and later Russia’s—largest overseas signals intelligence site, but it was officially closed in 2001. Open-source reporting and U.S. analysts have documented renewed SIGINT activity at Cuban sites (e.g., Bejucal) and raised concerns about Chinese and possibly Russian access, but independent, publicly available evidence that Russia currently operates its largest overseas SIGINT facility in Cuba (i.e., an active Lourdes-sized Russian base dedicated to stealing U.S. national security information) is inconclusive. Because intelligence operations are secretive and reporting is mixed between credible analysis (CSIS, AP) and less-corroborated claims, the claim in the fact sheet is plausible based on historical precedent and some official U.S. concerns, but not fully verifiable in open sources at this time. The verdict is Unclear; follow-up recommended.