Cuba holds U.S. responsible for human cost of unilateral measures

Cuba holds U.S. responsible for human cost of unilateral measures
Fecha de publicación: 
15 March 2018
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The recent unilateral measures adopted by the United States Department of State indefinitely reducing diplomatic personnel at its Embassy in Havana as well as issuing an unwarranted travel warning against the island, have a “humanitarian cost for which the U.S. government is responsible,” stated sources at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, March 5.

The decision announced March 2, to make permanent staff cuts at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, “has a particular impact on consular services on which thousands of citizens depend, who are now forced to incur additional expenses, as they must travel to third countries to apply for temporary or immigrant visas,” stated Director General of the United States at the Cuban Foreign Ministry Carlos Fernández de Cossío, in a statement to the press.

The official added that these measures represent an attempt by Washington to impose a “financial punishment on thousands of people, as well as anguish and insecurity in people's relationships with their families and close friends.”

Since September 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Havana has only been offering essential services to citizens from that nation and for emergency cases, after the State Department ordered the withdrawal of close to 60% of staff.

On March 5, it made these cuts official and indefinite, as the Embassy will now operate as an “unaccompanied post,” defined as a mission where no family members are permitted to reside.

However, U.S. diplomatic sources confirmed to Granma that the actual status of the Embassy can be reviewed and changed at any time.

Meanwhile, Fernández de Cossío noted that the recent measures are politically motivated and have no relation whatsoever to the safety and security of its officials in Havana, with Washington citing the alleged “sonic attacks” against its personnel in the Cuban capital, as the motivation behind the cut backs.

However, after three months of investigations by Cuban and U.S. authorities no evidence of any sonic attack has been found.

The Cuban official criticized the State Department’s repeated use of the term “attacks” since “it knows for certain that there have been no attacks or any deliberate act against U.S. diplomats in Cuba.”

“The use of this term is ill-intentioned and is not in keeping with the vocabulary or the content of official exchanges,” he stated, adding that none of the reports issued by the State Department or by the different experts, including the scientific community, provide evidence indicating that an attack took place in Cuba.

He also described as “hostile and slanderous” the decision to maintain a category three, on a scale of four, travel advisory against Cuba, via Washington’s system that evaluates the safety of countries worldwide, recommending U.S. citizens “reconsider” traveling to the island.

Cuba welcomes over four million visitors every year and is considered to be one of the safest destinations in the world by international organizations and specialist tour operators.

According to Fernández de Cossío, the travel advisory is based “on political motives and has no relation to the health of officials or concern for travelers.”

“It is not true that the diplomatic staff of the Embassy is or has been at risk. It is not true that the staff has been targeted. It is not true that a deliberate action against diplomats from the United States has been allowed or taken place in Cuba by anyone. It is not true that U.S. citizens have reason to fear for their safety and security in Cuba”, he said.

The U.S. government, he added, “has enough evidence that Cuba is a safe country for U.S. diplomats and for diplomats from any country, as it is for Cuban citizens, foreign residents and for millions of travelers from all corners of the world who visit Cuba every year”.

“The government of the United States and its State Department know perfectly well that Cuba fully observes its responsibilities with regard to the attention and protection of the diplomatic corps,” he stated.

The Cuban official also mentioned the situation at the Cuban embassy in Washington, after the U.S. government ordered the withdrawal of 17 members of staff, while the remaining personnel have been working hard to maintain all services.

According to Fernández de Cossío the measure was taken despite the impeccable behavior of those officials and conduct of the Embassy.

In his opinion, this confirms that “with regard to this issue, the State Department acts in response to political motives.”

The Cuban official also noted that the island remains willing “to engage in a respectful dialogue” with the United States and "advance issues that concern the lives of millions of peoples.”

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