A US Hellfire missile, which had disappeared while being returned to Europe in 2014, was found in Cuba, newspaper The Wall Street Journal.
Investigators trying to determine if the arrival of the air-launched missiles to the communist island is the result of a series of mistakes or deliberate criminal action, according to the economic daily, citing sources close to the case.
The US government has tried unsuccessfully to recover the missile which was devoid of nuclear warhead after starting a rapprochement with its former Cold War enemy in December 2014, according to the newspaper.
US officials had no fear while Cuba dismantle the missile or develop a similar one, but to share the know-how to China, North Korea and Russia, according to sources of the newspaper.
In early 2014, the missile was sent to Spain by the manufacturer, where it was used by NATO military exercises.
After it should be returned to the United States, but in Madrid, where the US authorities became aware of the disappearance, the missile passed from hand to hand among several carriers.
The authorities finally determined that it was a truck operated by Air France which took him to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, where he embarked on a flight to Cuba.
Its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, reported the problem to the State Department when he noticed the disappearance of the missile in June 2014.
The US Justice Department is investigating the matter, the newspaper said.
AFP