State Department flags Cuba-linked mobilization network targeting US bases and ICE facilities

A June "National Rapid Response Plan" calling for coordinated nationwide protests at US military bases, Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and federal buildings is now central to a State Department report arguing Cuba has built a mobilizable activist network inside the United States. The plan was distributed by the National Network on Cuba, a coalition of more than 60 US organizations, which the State Department links to the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, or ICAP, sanctioned in June for allegedly supporting Cuban intelligence activities.

The plan's mechanics

The blueprint sets a precise activation clock. Military action before 3 p.m. Eastern triggers demonstrations at 6 p.m. local time the same day; action later in the day pushes mobilization to 6 p.m. the following evening. Organizers are directed to gather at federal buildings, military bases and recruiting offices, and ICE detention centers and field offices. Sports arenas during high-profile events are listed as optional.

The plan's stated goal is to make it "politically and materially costly for the U.S. government to wage war on Cuba." It points activists to a Black Alliance for Peace database the State Department says maps 1,335 US military and law-enforcement locations across the Western Hemisphere. The National Network on Cuba promotes the plan publicly on its website under its "No War on Cuba" campaign.

The network the report names

ICAP is the report's central concern. The State Department describes it as coordinating more than 2,000 solidarity organizations across more than 150 countries. Its current head, Fernando González Llort, is a former member of Cuba's Wasp spy network, a Cuban intelligence ring that infiltrated exile organizations and gathered data on US military facilities in South Florida during the 1990s. González Llort served 15 years in a US federal prison before returning to Cuba.

The report names six organizations in detail: ICAP; the National Network on Cuba; Code Pink; the People's Forum; the Democratic Socialists of America; and the National Lawyers Guild. On DSA specifically, the report documents a 2023 Cuba delegation in which members met privately with President Miguel Díaz-Canel and sought formal communication with Cuban ministries, while noting the organization was not created or controlled by Cuban intelligence.

Federal scrutiny of Code Pink and what to watch

Code Pink faces separate pressure. A Manhattan federal grand jury is examining potential foreign-agent and tax violations tied to the financial network of Neville Roy Singham, husband of co-founder Jodie Evans and a major benefactor of the group. No charges have been filed, and Code Pink has not been identified as a target. The Treasury Department separately requested information from co-founder Medea Benjamin about a March aid convoy to Cuba, examining potential sanctions violations. Code Pink has denied wrongdoing and says the convoy delivered humanitarian supplies.

The broader policy context: Trump signed an executive order in January allowing tariffs on imports from countries supplying oil to Cuba, then expanded pressure in May with sanctions targeting foreign entities operating in key sectors of the Cuban economy. The next marker to watch is whether this report precedes formal sanctions designations against any of the named US-based organizations, none of which have been charged or sanctioned to date.

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