U.S. and the hearing loss of its diplomats in Havana

U.S. and the hearing loss of its diplomats in Havana
Fecha de publicación: 
6 October 2017
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Is it true that Cuba-United States relations remain?

That's what repeated statements from “anonymous sources” of the Department of State ascertain and, of course, it’s the firm political will the Cuban government has stated many times, not only to keep them, but to improve them as well beyond the natural discrepancies, stressing the matters of common interest based on mutual respect, sovereignty and self-determination of both parties. But, if one follows the facts of the last months and weeks, and partly the words, by the minute it would seem that the course Washington has given to this issue, if it does not seek to break the relations reestablished on December 17, 2014, at least it seeks to reduce them to a mere formalism, almost nothing.

Let’s approach the latest events of this hypoacoustic saga? On September 29, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced a substantial withdrawal of the staff of its embassy in Havana and said that all relatives would be repatriated. He justified the move by claiming that “attacks” have been perpetrated against officials of the US government in Cuba, which have affected their health. The Cuban government, besides being informed very late by the American side over those alleged “attacks” and health problems of its diplomatic staff in Cuba, has hardly received details of importance as to make a judgment on them.

Days later, on October 3, the US government, in another unjustified action, decided that 15 Cuban embassy officials had to leave the American territory, on the basis of “the reduction of its diplomatic staff in Havana and that Havana hadn’t made the necessary steps to prevent “attacks” against them”. The Cuban Foreign Ministry protested and termed this decision groundless and unacceptable, as well as the pretext that Cuba did not take appropriate measures to prevent those alleged incidents.

Regarding the steps made by Havana, we will talk later, but it’s nonsense to justify the expulsion of the Cuban personnel by the fact that Washington decided to withdraw part of its staff. Previously, on May 23, two Cuban diplomats were ordered to leave Washington "in a sudden, inappropriate and unthinking manner", as was described by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which argued the absence of evidence on what Washington called incidents at that time and starting last Friday it calls attacks. The ongoing investigation agreed between the two countries had hardly progressed due to US reluctance to comply with its part and Cuba could not, therefore, be guilty of anything.

At the meeting held –at Cuba’s request– between Tillerson and Cuban FM Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the latter warned him not to make quick decisions with unfounded evidences, urged him not to politicize the issue and reiterated the request of effective cooperation of the US authorities to clear up the events and conclude the investigation.

Now, it is necessary to point out that Cuba was not informed by the American side until February 2017

about the alleged incidents against the officials of its diplomatic mission in Havana and their relatives occurred since November 2016, which caused them hearing loss, dizziness and other symptoms. Nevertheless, the Cuban government stepped in immediately and at the suggestion of President Raúl Castro it began an investigation whose seriousness and professionalism have been acknowledged by the three groups of experts from US agencies that the Cuban government has allowed to visit the island. Cuba also created an expert committee composed of doctors, scientists and police chiefs.

As colleague Rosa Miriam Elizalde has asked, have the victims of the strange sonic attack in Cuba been examined by physicians from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center?, Will there exist any report on the case from the National Institute of Health? This is not a useless question, because they might have been examined by doctors chosen at University of Miami by senator and failed presidential candidate Marcos Rubio. As it’s well known, Rubio has found a mine to refloat himself political and financially in the war against Cuba and Venezuela. Everything can happen in that country today.

Twitter:@aguerraguerra

Translated by Jorge Mesa Benjamin / Cubasi TranslationStaff

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