--- title: Marco Rubio Says Cuba Intelligence Underestimated in US description: "The Cuban government punches well above their weight" canonical: https://time.com/2966881/marco-rubio-cuba/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-08T18:42:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:01:34.102Z article:section: Politics og:title: Marco Rubio Says Cuba Intelligence Underestimated in US og:description: "The Cuban government punches well above their weight" og:url: https://time.com/2966881/marco-rubio-cuba/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ae9586567f686e/698699da169ab05fe227a22c/marco_rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority event in Washington on June 19, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Marco Rubio Says Cuba Intelligence Underestimated in US twitter:description: "The Cuban government punches well above their weight" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95ae9586567f686e/698699da169ab05fe227a22c/marco_rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rubio Says Cuban Intelligence Capability in U.S. 'Grossly Underestimated' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Jul 8, 2014 6:42 PM UTC  Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority event in Washington on June 19, 2014. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority event in Washington on June 19, 2014. Molly Riley—AP by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Jul 8, 2014 6:42 PM UTC Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Tuesday that the Cuban intelligence presence in Washington and the United States is “grossly underestimated.” “I think Cuban intelligence is much more active in this country than people believe,” Rubio said in response to questions about New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez’s claim that he was the target of a Cuban intelligence smear scheme. “It is in fact, one of the three or four most active intelligence agencies operating in the United States today.” “This is an ongoing challenge for all administrations,” added Rubio, a Florida native of Cuban descent who sits on both the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees. “It’s an espionage issue. When it comes to intelligence gathering and the ability to carry out intelligence operations, the Cuban government punches well above their weight.” The Washington [_Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-robert-menendez-seeks-probe-of-alleged-cuban-plot-to-smear-him/2014/07/07/e9ba25a0-efe8-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4%5Fstory.html) reported Monday night that Menendez has asked the Justice Department to seek evidence obtained by U.S. intelligence agents that the Cuban government engaged in a smear campaign that left him tangling with allegations he participated in pool parties with underage prostitutes while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. Menendez has been buffeted by a federal probe into whether he used his position to benefit the host of that trip. Shortly before Menendez’s reelection in 2012, the conservative website _The Daily Caller_ published a story quoting two Dominican women who said the Senator had paid them for sex. The women later [recanted](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/escort-says-menendez-prostitution-claims-were-made-up/2013/03/04/31299fe2-8514-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d%5Fstory.html) their accounts, saying they were paid to make them up, and the FBI’s investigation did not confirm the prostitution claims. Menendez, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is fiercely in favor of the U.S. embargo of Cuba, and he told [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/08/politics/menendez-prostitutes-cuba/) on Tuesday he “wouldn’t be surprised” that the Castro regime “would do anything it can to stop me.” Rubio said Tuesday that he has no idea if he has been targeted by Cuban intelligence officials. “Not that I know,” said Rubio. “But who knows? I think Cuban intelligence presence both in Washington and the U.S. is grossly underestimated.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2966881/marco-rubio-cuba/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2966881/marco-rubio-cuba/"},"headline":"Rubio Says Cuban Intelligence Capability in U.S. 'Grossly Underestimated'","datePublished":"2014-07-08T18:42:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:01:34.102Z","description":"\"The Cuban government punches well above their weight\"","url":"https://time.com/2966881/marco-rubio-cuba/","keywords":["Congress","Sen. 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