Cuba Is Allegedly Waging Stealth 'Foreign Influence' Campaign Inside US Using Union Members

Questions are swirling about just what sort of relationship the authoritarian Cuban government and members of a U.S.-based trade union with strong ties to the military have, in a story that went fairly under the radar late Thursday night.

Fox News Digital reported that members of Congress are investigating the troubling information, and grilling the International Association of Machinists (IAM) over directives to its members on taking part in activism pushing Cuban propaganda and lobbying to change the U.S. embargo policy against Cuba and its leader, Raúl Castro:

A powerful U.S. union representing roughly 600,000 workers is facing new scrutiny over its ties to communist Cuba.

Lawmakers are demanding answers about Cuba trips, regime-aligned advocacy and whether union resources helped advance Havana’s policy goals in the United States.

The pressure comes amid broader concerns over Cuban influence efforts inside America — and a midterm cycle already being roiled by fights over socialism.

The story continued: 

The Cuban official who spoke at the IAM meeting — David Ramírez Álvarez, second secretary at Cuba's embassy — has drawn the attention of American officials for allegedly coordinating an influence network within the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter. He instructed union members on how to lobby, track legislation, and engage in national activism on Cuba's behalf.

Here are just a few examples of what's being alleged:

An IAM leader told attendees: "The job now is defending Cuba in whatever way we can." He later successfully petitioned the California AFL-CIO to pass a resolution calling for Cuba's removal from the U.S. list of state terror sponsors. A separate video posted by the Cuban Embassy shows the same leader declaring "we must and will continue to defend the sovereignty of Cuba."

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, is now seeking answers from IAM about its advocacy, in a letter sent Thursday:

"I am concerned that IAM Union member dues are financing efforts to change U.S. policy related to the Cuban regime, a State Sponsor of Terror, instead of supporting American workers’ priorities," Cassidy wrote. "These examples raise serious concerns that IAM Union officials have used their positions within the union to advocate for policy objectives promoted by the Cuban regime as part of a foreign influence scheme."

He continued:

"American workers should not be compelled to finance advocacy that advances the foreign policy aims of a hostile foreign power, particularly one responsible for the deaths of at least three U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident in international waters."

The letter comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the alarm about details from a recent voluminous State Department report on the Cuban regime "reportedly organizing far-left American activist groups to target American military bases, ICE facilities and other federal installations," in a sit-down with Fox News' My View With Lara Trump.

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READ MORE: Boom: Rubio Issues New Crackdown on Cuban Regime’s Financial Backers

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For its part, in response to Fox News Digital on Friday, the union said in a strident statement: "The IAM Union is proud to be America’s largest and most powerful defense union, representing tens of thousands of highly skilled workers — including many military veterans — who build and maintain the aircraft, ships, vehicles and other critical equipment our servicemen and women rely on every day to defend our nation and our freedoms."

It continued: "This is not the first politically motivated attack the IAM has faced in our 138-year history, and it will not be the last. We will never be intimidated or distracted from our mission of fighting for the working people who make us stronger."