U.S. to withdraw most staff from embassy in Cuba, warns Americans not to travel
The United States will withdraw most of its staff from its embassy in Havana following mysterious sonic attacks that have caused several health problems to about 20 diplomats, a U.S. government source confirmed to El Nuevo Herald on Friday.
The U.S. government has ordered 60 percent of its staff removed from the diplomatic headquarters in Havana. Additionally, it will issue an alert recommending to the Americans not to travel to the island due to the attacks. The issuance of visas in Havana was also suspended indefinitely.
The measures, first reported by the Associated Press, seek to protect diplomats and their families from what Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called a “attacks on the health” of diplomatic staff in Havana.
The diversity of symptoms, from hearing loss to brain damage, as well as the diversity of descriptions of the sounds the diplomats say they have heard, have left experts confused.
According to a State Department source, there are 21 confirmed cases of affected persons, not 25 as originally reported. The source also stressed that the attacks did not occur at the U.S. embassy. Previously, U.S. government officials believed the attacks occurred at diplomats’ homes — all leased from Cuban government — and in the Hotel Capri in Havana.
The withdrawal of staff follows a high-level meeting Tuesday between Tillerson and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. According to a State Department statement, Tillerson “conveyed the seriousness of the situation and underscored the Cuban authorities’ obligations to protect Embassy staff and their families under the Vienna Convention.”
The meeting was requested by the Cuban government.
From the outset, the Cuban government has denied responsibility in the attacks and allowed entry to the FBI island to investigate. But remarks by Rodriguez, considered a conservative in government, did not appear to alleviate the crisis.
According to a statement by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations, Rodríguez told Tillerson that “according to the preliminary results obtained by the Cuban authorities in their investigation, which has taken into account data provided by the U.S. authorities, there is as yet no evidence of the causes and origin of health conditions reported by U.S. diplomats.”
The Cuban foreign minister also complained about what he called the “unjustified” decision of the U.S. government. to expel two Cuban diplomats from Washington and added “it would be unfortunate to politicize a case of this nature and to make hasty and unsupported decisions on inconclusive evidence and investigative results.”
After the meeting, Cuban diplomats have been tweeting their governments positiosn and sharing stories by the official Cuban press on the subject.
This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 10:28 AM with the headline "U.S. to withdraw most staff from embassy in Cuba, warns Americans not to travel."