Despite Republican Rebuffs, Cuba to Re-Open US Embassy in July

Cuba is on track to re-open its embassy in Washington by July 20, in accordance with a previous agreement made with the U.S. government, Cuban officials confirmed this weekend.

“We are about to complete the first phase, which will close on July 20, when relations between Cuba and the US will be officially established,” Josephina Vidal, Cuban Foreign Ministry’s Director for the United States, told the press Saturday.

On that day, “we will do the opening ceremony of our embassy in Washington,” added Vidal upon exiting a morning Parliamentary session.

On July 1, Washington and Havana officially announced that the two countries will re-open their embassies by July 20 as part of their efforts to reestablish diplomatic relations.

However, Washington has met some backlash on the issue, as the Republican controlled Congress has banned any possibility of funding the reopening of an embassy in Cuba.

The move follows the joint decision last year by the two countries to re-establish diplomatic relations after 53 years.

Despite Republican efforts to stop diplomatic relations from going ahead, Cuba appears to be committed to the process, saying a second phase will begin after July 20.

“From that day (July 20) we will be closing the first phase of the process we have started with the United States, and from that moment we will start working on the second phase, which is what we call ‘the process towards normalization of relations,’” said Vidal.