[cainxinth]

My own unfounded conspiracy theory? It was done by Russia to submarine efforts by the Obama administration to normalize relations with Cuba.

[mturmon]

Or, to widen the possibilities somewhat, by Cuban interests who would prefer to not have normalized relations with the US, and who could enlist technically-advanced outside help — perhaps from Russia, but not necessarily the Russian government, directly.

One reason a Cuban entity might not want normalization is that a lot of property was taken over during the Revolution, and US Cubans (and other former property owners) have been clear about wanting it back.

Basic background: https://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/news-and-politics/property-ri...

[tekkk]

Hmm, even though that's a bit of a stretch that actually makes sense. Also Russia seems like the only geo-political adversary that could pull this off and have a vested interest in keeping Cuba in their sphere.

[sudosysgen]

Cuba really isn't close enough to Russia to be "in it's sphere".

[bumby]

I think they meant “political sphere” not “geographic sphere”.

[sudosysgen]

Yes. Politically, since the fall of the Soviet Union, there are few ties between Cuba and Russia.

[bumby]

After the Trump administration reversed the previous administrations opening of Cuba, Russia has increased diplomatic relations with the island nation. The trade between the two has doubled

[sudosysgen]

Russia still isn't even in the top ten trade partners of Cuba. It's not in the Russian sphere in any way.