US expels 15 Cuban diplomats amid rising tensions

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US President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday expelled 15 Cuban diplomats to protest Cuba’s failure to protect staff at the US embassy in Havana from a mysterious spate of health “attacks,” spurring new tensions between the former Cold War foes.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the expulsions from Cuba’s embassy in Washington were also intended to ensure “equity” in staffing levels, after he recalled more than half the US diplomatic personnel in Havana on Friday.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced the decision as “unjustified,” accused the United States of insufficient cooperation with Cuba’s investigation of the health incidents and urged Washington to stop politicizing the matter.

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez addresses a news conference in Havana, Cuba, October 3, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The steps taken by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration delivers another blow to his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama’s policy of rapprochement, including actions likely to erode the normalization of a relationship dominated for decades by mutual hostility and suspicion.

The latest US move was communicated to Cuban Ambassador Jose Ramon Cabanas on Tuesday, and the diplomats were given seven days to leave, a State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“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.

An exterior view of the US Embassy is seen in Havana, Cuba, June 19, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The United States announced on Friday that it was sharply reducing its diplomatic presence in Cuba, as it warned US citizens not to visit the Communist-ruled island because of the alleged attacks it says have caused hearing loss, dizziness and fatigue in 22 US 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 US citizens.

Cuba has denied involvement in any attacks and says it has reinforced security for US diplomatic personnel.

Rodriguez said lack of US cooperation had stymied its own investigation into the matter. Authorities had not provided access to the injured people and the doctors who examined them, or to the homes where the attacks allegedly took place, he said, adding that evidence had been delivered late.

Rodriguez urged the United States to cooperate more and said Cuba was also working with Canada on the investigation as Canadian diplomats have reported similar symptoms.

So far, none of the probes have yielded any answers about how the alleged attacks were carried out or who was responsible.

Source(s): Reuters