United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz called Cuba a "national security threat" on Sunday, accusing China and Russia of collecting intelligence around U.S. military sites as the Trump administration keeps pressure on Havana.

Waltz Warns Of Intelligence Posts

Waltz told Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures" that China and Russia are "collecting information around our military bases in Cuba." He added, "The Cuban regime is not only a threat to its own people, it's a national security threat, and this administration's not going to stand for it any longer."

Waltz said China and Russia "still have intelligence posts, signals, collection posts and military officers in Cuba right off our shores." He argued that the Trump administration had pushed Moscow and Beijing back elsewhere in the region, including Venezuela, Central America and the Panama Canal.

Trump Administration Maintains Hard Line

His comments track with the administration's broader hard line. President Donald Trump, in January, declared Cuba's policies an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and foreign policy, citing Havana's intelligence and defense ties with Russia and China.

The latest warning also comes after rare U.S.-Cuba contacts. The Associated Press reported in May that CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials in Havana and delivered Trump's message that Washington was open to serious engagement on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba made fundamental changes.

Reuters separately reported in May that Cuba's deputy foreign minister, Josefina Vidal, accused Washington of inventing national security pretexts and warned, "Every day the danger of military aggression against Cuba grows."

Lindsey Graham's Passing Adds Pressure

Trump subsequently said Cuba remained "on our mind" while rejecting the need for immediate escalation, saying, "I don't think there needs to be," when asked about further action. He added, "Look, the place is falling apart."

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates has also warned that Trump's Cuba threats could trigger a migration crisis and affect U.S. security.

The pressure campaign has gained urgency after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a defense hawk who had called for regime change in Cuba and wrote that "the liberation of the wonderful people of Cuba from the clutches of communism is close at hand."