Espionage was suspected after it was revealed a high-tech US missile was accidentally shipped to Cuba, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

A Lockheed Martin Hellfire missile was mistakenly shipped from Europe there in 2014.

It was supposed to go from France to Florida, but ended up in the Caribbean country under suspicious circumstances.

The dummy missile is a laser-guided, air-to-surface missile that weighs about 45kg (100lb).

It can be deployed from an attack helicopter such as the Apache or an unmanned drone such as the Predator.

There are worries that the advanced technology could be passed on from Cuba to US rivals such as Russia or North Korea.

In the wake of North Korea’s supposed H-bomb test, US officials say that they are trying their best to retrieve the missile.

Communist Cuba experienced a diplomatic thaw with Washington in July last year after more than 50 years of hostilities.

But an embargo barring US trade and travel to the Caribbean island is still in place.

And Cuba, made famous by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, still has a dire human rights record.

Source: MENA