Committee advances memorial to condemn partnership between CCP, Cuban regime
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida Senate committee unanimously passed a memorial urging the United States Secretary of State to condemn the “emerging partnership” between the Chinese Communist Party and the communist regime in Cuba and the “establishment of Chinese espionage and military capabilities in Cuba.”
A memorial is an official legislative document addressed to the United States Congress, the president of the United States, and some other governmental entities, that expresses the will of the legislature.
The memorial, SM 540, passed through the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security.
It was proposed by Sen. Bryan Avila, R-Hialeah Gardens, and a similar memorial is being carried in the House by Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, R-Miami.
Avila said that on Feb 4., 2023, the U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
The balloon hovered over the nation for more than a week and was gathering intelligence for the communist Chinese government, Avila said.
He said on June 8, 2023, it was reported that China and Cuba reached an undisclosed agreement for
China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility in Cuba.
In June, the federal government confirmed that since 2019, China had been operating a spy base in Cuba as part of a “global effort by Beijing to upgrade its intelligence-gathering capabilities,” according to the memorial’s analysis.
The memorial also urges the United States Secretary of State to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for “taking steps to collect sensitive information regarding the United States Government and its citizens and for establishing a potential base for the party’s military and intelligence services 90 miles from
the United States.”
The memorial called the move an “aggressive action threatening national security.”
It further directs the Florida secretary of state to dispatch copies to the president of the United States, the president of the U.S. Senate, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the U.S. secretary of state, and each member of the state delegation to Congress.
The memorial would need to be passed by both legislative houses, but does not require the governor’s approval nor is it subject to a veto.
The memorial will now head to the Senate Rules committee.
