US behind Cuban Twitter revolution
- It has emerged that ‘Zunzuneo’, The Cuban Twitter Rise was masterminded by the U. S govt with the intention of undermining the Cuban Communist government by building a young Cuban audience and pushing them to revolt while also secretly obtaining their personal information to be used for political purposes.
- This was built by secret shell companies tied to US govt, funded through accounts set up in foreign banks at Spain and Cayman Islands, lasted for 2 yrs and attracted scores of subscribers.
- There is no clarity on whether this was legal under US law and authorized by the President, as US officials declined any information. While USAID maintains that its work in Cuba was to help the citizens who were living under an authoritarian role, documents and interviews obtained reveal their major role in this. One memo obtained mentions that there is to be no mention of US govt’s involvement for the long term success of their mission.
- The project came to a halt following the arrest of American contractor Alan Gross in 2009 who was travelling regularly to Cube on covert USAID mission to widen Internet access using sensitive technology available only to the government.
Exams Perspective:
- Social Media
- Communist Governments
- Covert Operations