China, in his words · 2024 campaign · № 93
Says he would give China 48 hours to remove military and spy equipment from Cuba
“I will inform China that they have 48 hours to get any military and spy equipment out of Cuba, or we will drop the hammer and there will be tariffs and taxes unlike anything they've ever seen.”
- Said
- , Speech at the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Novi, Michigan
- Subject
- military sites in Cuba
- Threat
- Military threat
- Topic
- Foreign policy
- Era
- 2024 campaign
What the record showed
A Biden administration official said in June 2023 that China had operated a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019 and had upgraded its operation there that year, which was during Trump's first term. The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported on June 18, 2026, that a new antenna array at the Bejucal signals-intelligence site near Havana appeared complete and had "very likely begun operations," while noting that no clear publicly available evidence proves China's involvement there. Fox News reported in May 2026 that the Trump administration had expanded sanctions on Cuba and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had acknowledged a Russian and Chinese intelligence presence on the island.