White House Says ‘Cuban Twitter’ Was A ‘Development’ Program, Not Covert

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that the White House has denied that Zunzuneo or “Cuban Twitter”, a cell-phone social media platform funded and built by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for the ultimate purpose of fomenting and organizing dissent against Cuba’s government, was in fact a covert program. The characterization is an important one: the original AP investigation which revealed the program’s existence notes that any covert action by federal agencies which takes place without presidential authorization is illegal.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told the AP wasn’t aware of specific individuals in the White House who had knowledge of Zunzuneo’s existence, but added that President Obama supports efforts to expand access to telecommunications in Cuba. When asked about the network of front companies set up using Cayman Islands and Spanish bank accounts and run by executives who weren’t aware of the service’s connection to the US government, Carney said that in “non-permissive environments” like Cuba, the government takes extra steps to protect “practitioners and the public.”

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of Appropriations Committee's State Department and foreign operations subcommittee, told the AP that he found aspects of the program “troubling,” including “the clandestine nature of the program that was not disclosed to the appropriations subcommittee with oversight responsibility.” In an appearance on MSNBC on Thursday, he said he hadn’t been briefed on what he called a “dumb” idea. “No, absolutely not. And if I had been, I would have said, ‘What in heaven’s name are you thinking?’” Leahy said, adding later, “If USAID says they briefed the people giving the money for this, that’s not so. I was not briefed. I know of nobody who was briefed on this. I think most people would say, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ This is not a program USAID should be involved with."