WASHINGTON, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - The White House has said a Twitter-like social media service created by the US government for Cubans was a development program, not a covert operation.
"Suggestions that this was a covert program are wrong. Congress funds democracy programming for Cuba to help empower Cubans to access more information and to strengthen civil society," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday, adding that outlays for the project had been debated and approved by Congress.
An investigation by the Associated Press revealed Thursday that the US concealed its links to the project, which was apparently aimed at fomenting unrest on the communist-led island.
The service, dubbed ZunZuneo for the slang term of a Cuban hummingbird's tweet, was reportedly funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2009 to 2012, and appeared to have taken advantage of the thirst for information in the country, reaching 40,000 subscribers during its peak.
USAID reportedly kept the funding source of the service hidden from Cuban authorities by recruiting unsuspecting executives with no ties to the US government and using an offshore Cayman Islands bank account.
Cuban President Raul Castro lifted restrictions on the ownership of mobile phones in 2008. Since last year, a total of 137 public Internet access points have been opened on the island, but one hour online costs $4.50, while the average local salary is equivalent to about $20 a month.
USAID spokesman Matt Herrick on Thursday praised the agency's programs in Cuba and noted that their actions have been reviewed by Congress, which found that they complied with US law.
"USAID is a development agency, not an intelligence agency, and we work all over the world to help people exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms, and give them access to tools to improve their lives and connect with the outside world," he told AP.
