‘Cuban Twitter’: U.S. Secret Project to Undermine Cuban Government

Cuba

The rocky relationship between Cuba and the United States is once again being put to the test. This, after reports surfaced that the U.S. government secretly created a Cuban version of a social media site similar to the well known “Twitter.” The site dubbed “Zun Zuneo” was designed in hopes that it could be used to trigger unrest and undermine the Cuban government.

In an investigation by the Associated Press, it was revealed that  U.S created a Twitter-like text messaging system with an intent to oust the island’s repressive regime. But the White House and supporters say the program was meant to give Cubans the chance to communicate and organize without eavesdropping from the Communist government. ZunZuneo, Cuban slang for a hummingbird’s tweet, was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2009 to 2012, when it ended because funding stopped, according to the Associated Press. During its peak, it attracted tens of thousands of mobile followers.

USAID tried to keep the funding source of the service hidden from Cuban authorities. During its operation the service cost $1.6 million and the project was labeled in budget documents as going to “an unspecified project in Pakistan.” USAID, which provides humanitarian and other aid to other countries, set up offshore front companies to hide ties, according to the AP. CCTV’s Jim Spellman has more.

CCTV’s Michael Voss reports from Cuba on U.S Government creating a “Cuban Twitter”  the Zun Zuneo and how young Cubans who used it are reacting to the latest revelations.