U.S. orders expulsion of 15 Cuban diplomats
The Cuban national flag is seen raised over their new embassy in Washington July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File PhotoThe Trump administration on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of 15 Cuban diplomats after pulling more than half of its own embassy staff out of Havana last week, further escalating tensions between the United States and Cuba.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the latest decision was made due to Cuba’s “failure to take appropriate steps” to protect American personnel in Cuba who have been targeted in mysterious “attacks” that have damaged their health.
The steps taken by President Donald Trump’s administration mark another blow to his predecessor Barack Obama’s policy of rapprochement between Washington and Havana, former Cold War foes.
A State Department official said the number of expulsions ensured that the U.S. and Cuban embassies would have “equitable staffing levels” while investigations continue into the unexplained “health attacks.”
The U.S. decision was communicated to Cuban Ambassador Jose Ramon Cabanas on Tuesday, and the diplomats were given seven days to leave, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The United States announced on Friday that it was sharply reducing its diplomatic presence in Cuba, as it warned U.S. citizens not to visit the island because of attacks that have caused hearing loss, dizziness and fatigue in U.S. embassy personnel. The State Department had said the embassy was halting regular visa operations for Cubans seeking to visit the United States and would offer only emergency services to U.S. citizens.
“Until the Government of Cuba can ensure the safety of our diplomats in Cuba, our embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel to minimize the number of diplomats at risk of exposure to harm,” Tillerson said in a statement.
“We continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba, and will continue to cooperate with Cuba as we pursue the investigation into these attacks,” he added.
The number of American diplomats confirmed to have suffered symptoms has increased to 22.
The official maintained that despite the U.S. moves, Washington was not assigning “culpability” to Cuba’s Communist government. Cuba has denied involvement in the attacks and is conducting its own investigation.
Several Cuban-American Republican lawmakers, including U.S Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, had urged that Cuban diplomats be kicked out in retaliation for the Cuban government’s failure to get to the bottom of the attacks.
“I commend the U.S. State Department for expelling a number of Cuban operatives from the U.S.," Rubio, an influential voice on Trump\’s Cuba policy, said in a statement. He called for a downgrading relations with Cuba.
But James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, a Washington-based pro-engagement lobbying group said: "This decision appears to be purely political, driven by the desire of a handful of individuals in Congress to halt progress between our two countries."
There was no immediate comment from the Cuban embassy, but Cuba\’s Foreign Ministry Chief for U.S. Affairs Josefina Vidal said last week that the U.S. decision to reduce staff in Havana was hasty and would affect relations.
"It looks like we are returning the threats and tensions of the 1960s,” said Maria Fernandez, a 45-year-old office worker in Havana. “This is madness by Trump. It\’s really sad, because we are so close, and yet so far away from a sincere rapprochement.”
Cuba, the United States and Canada have investigated the attacks, but the probes have not yielded any answers about how they were carried out or who was responsible.
The case has brought simmering U.S.-Cuba tensions since Trump took office to a boil.
Trump, who in June vowed to partially roll back the detente with Cuba agreed by his Democratic predecessor Obama after five decades of hostility, called the Cuban government "corrupt and destabilizing" in his address to the United Nations last month. Cuba described his comments as "unacceptable and meddling."
In Havana, U.S. diplomats have been frantically selling off their belongings at garage sales and on social media. Many said they were disappointed to be ordered to leave.
In a message on Facebook, the embassy\’s top official, career diplomat Scott Hamilton, said he would also be leaving. "I am an optimist and hope we will return one day, before too long," he wrote. "Hasta la proxima Cuba."
SOURCE: AFP
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