Lourdes SIGINT Station

The Lourdes SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) facility, located near Havana, Cuba, was the largest facility of its kind operated by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service or FIS, outside of Russia. Located less than 100 mi from Key West, the facility covered 28 sqmi. Construction began in July 1962. From October 2001, all station facilities were shut down, the buildings were abandoned and later reconstructed to become what is now the University of Information Science.

At its peak during the Cold War, the facility was staffed by over 1,500 KGB, GRU, Cuban DGI, and Eastern Bloc technicians, engineers and intelligence operatives. In 2000, it was reported that China signed an agreement with the Cuban government to share use of the facility for its own intelligence agency.

In July 2003, the Voice of America condemned Cuba for allegedly jamming US international broadcasts to Iran that coincided with the annual student protests associated with the 18th of Tir.

In popular culture
The station was a key plot device in the August 28, 2012 episode of the USA television network series Covert Affairs episode "Loving the Alien".