Russia TO REOPEN SPY BASE'

WE THINK THIS NEWS IS RELATED IN SOME WAYS TO THE NEWS OF NORTH KOREAN VESSELS ENGAGED IN INTERNATIONAL ARMS SMUGGLING OPERATING OUT OF CUBA

Editor's Note 4/12/2015: Even as relations between Cuba and the United States appear to be "normalizing" these plans, set over a year ago, are still in progress. One has to wonder. Did we "normalize relations" or simply seek out and crater to yet another regime hell bent on our destruction? Oh yeah, don't look for any of this in the "mainstream media". 1/30/2016 No Change

 Photo: U.S. Navy

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The Bear's fearless leader Valdimir Putin alternating between President and Prime minister for life visited Cuba last week. He gave a qualified commitment to reopening an old Cold War era listening post aimed at the United States. We say call it a "qualified" commitment because supposedly he is only head of state vice head of government, and such a commitment would normally be made by head of government. But with Mr. Putin we find that which ever rotating office for life that he occupies he pretty much behaves as the sole voice of Russia as befits a former KGB man. Additionally Russian news sources wrote of the deal as being "finalized" during Mr. Putkin's visit to Havanna. The listening post is known as the Lourdes Base and has been mothballed since 2001. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourdes_SIGINT_Station

 The base had been established in 1964 and once employed 3,000 people. So the Cubans probably view it as both an economic boost and a thumb in the eye of the United States. Ahead of Putin's visit to Cuba last week as part of a Latin American tour, Russia, now swimming in oil revenues, wrote off 90 percent of Cuba's debt dating back to the Soviet era,roughly  $32 billion. The previous rent on the Lourdes facility was about $200 million annually. No doubt the Cuban government will get more this time around. As we noted in a previous post, Argentina has also allowed Russia to establish a naval base on her territory.

Russia paid Cuba rent of $200 million per year to use the base in the last few years it was open. The Bear is on a charm offensive in Latin America and finding many willing takers. None of this is good news for the United States, Canada, or any other fan of feedom and democracy in the hemisphere.

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