Cuba-Linked Sleeper Agents Poised to Wage War in California, State Department Warns

A new State Department report alleges that a network of American activist groups with longstanding ties to Cuba has developed a rapid-response mobilization plan meant to be activated within 24 hours of any U.S. military action against the island nation, with California identified as a key area of concern due to its concentration of military installations.

The 99-page report, published Monday, describes what officials call a decades-long Cuban influence network operating through activist organizations, political movements and other groups inside the United States. It centers on the National Network on Cuba, a coalition that brings together more than 50 groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America, the Communist Party USA and CODEPINK.

According to the report, the network's plan calls for "coordinated nationwide actions" within 24 hours of what organizers describe as an "imminent threat" or U.S. military move against Cuba. The plan identifies categories of potential locations for organizing, including military bases, recruitment offices, federal buildings and courthouses, and ICE detention centers and field offices. It also raises the possibility of actions at "sports arenas during high-visibility events."

A State Department official said domestic law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies "are looking carefully" at what the official called a "very serious and distinct threat," adding that some organizations within the broader network "have been involved in violent action in the past."

Why California Is a Focus

The report points to California's large number of military sites as a reason for the state's importance to the alleged strategy. The state is home to major Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Army installations stretching from San Diego County through Southern California and into the Central Coast and Northern California.

A separate resource cited in the report, shared by the Black Alliance for Peace (which the report describes as a frequent "collaborator" with Havana) maps more than 1,300 military and law enforcement sites across the Americas. The group calls it the "Map of U.S. Militarization in Our Americas" and says it documents U.S. military commands, operational bases, training facilities and other sites. The organization has said it encourages activists to use the map to identify facilities in their communities and to organize around them.

Ties to Los Angeles Political Figures

The report also highlights former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and current Mayor Karen Bass, both of whom have had ties to Cuba dating back decades. Bass traveled to Cuba in 1973 as a young activist with the Venceremos Brigade, a group that organized trips for Americans to work, study and engage in political exchange in Cuba, and later helped organize the group's activities in Southern California.

Bass returned to Cuba decades later as a member of Congress, including as part of a 2016 congressional delegation that traveled with President Barack Obama during his administration's push to normalize relations with Havana. When Fidel Castro died later that year, Bass drew criticism for referring to him by the honorific "Comandante en Jefe" and describing his death as "a great loss to the people of Cuba."

The report also traces Cuban influence over American activist movements through the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples, known as ICAP, an organization founded during Fidel Castro's rule that has maintained relationships with universities, student organizations and activist movements in the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned ICAP in June, describing it as "a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba" that supports Cuban intelligence and counterintelligence activities.

A Broader Escalation With Cuba

The report's release comes as tensions between Washington and Havana have intensified, with President Trump having publicly floated the possibility of U.S. military action against Cuba. Officials say Cuba's ties to other U.S. adversaries have deepened the concern.

"As Cuba has become more ideologically isolated, they've continued to actually give Russia, China and Iran more influence, to control more of their economy, to do more spying from their territory, to put more foreign intelligence agents and foreign terrorists on their soil just 90 miles from the United States," a State Department official said. "So it is a growing and significant threat."

The report also notes that funding for some groups tied to the network is already under scrutiny by the Treasury Department and Department of Justice, including CODEPINK, whose financial backer Neville Roy Singham is reportedly being examined for potential financial crimes by the Southern District of New York.

Pushback on the Report's Framing

Not everyone accepts the State Department's characterization. CodePink, one of the organizations named in the report, pushed back directly in a statement responding to the allegations: "This latest attempt by the State Department is just one of many politically motivated witch hunts designed to silence antiwar voices who dare to challenge U.S. militarism."

The report also draws a line between decades-old Cold War-era espionage cases, such as convicted spies Ana Belén Montes and Walter Kendall Myers, and present-day activist organizing, treating both as part of a single continuous "subversion" campaign. Critics note that the activities described in the National Network on Cuba's rapid-response plan, organizing protests at federal buildings, military recruitment offices and ICE facilities, are constitutionally protected forms of political speech and assembly, not clandestine operations. The report itself does not allege that any of the named organizations have engaged in violence, weapons activity or covert operations; its own findings are limited to public advocacy, lobbying and organizing.

Even some commentary sympathetic to the report's broader concerns has acknowledged this distinction. One analysis noted that the State Department's assessment "does not mean every person attending one of those protests is knowingly working for Cuba," pointing out that shared appearances at protests and overlapping rhetoric among groups critical of U.S. foreign policy don't, on their own, establish coordination with a foreign government.

The National Network on Cuba could not be reached for comment on the report, and Cuban officials had not responded to the specific allegations as of the report's release.

Curious for more stories that keep you informed and entertained? From the latest headlines to everyday insights, YourLifeBuzz has more to explore. Dive into what’s next.