Reading News 4U: US expels 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington embassy
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
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| The Cuban Embassy on 16th Street in Washington, DC. Photograph: EPA |
VietPress USA (Oct. 3rd, 2017): Cuba is
located in the northern Caribbean where
the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It
is south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities
include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Cuba is the
largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometers
(42,426 sq. mi), and the second-most populous after Hispaniola, with over 11
million inhabitants.
Prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was
inhabited by Amerindian tribes.
It remained a colony of Spain until
the Spanish–American War of 1898, which led
to nominal independence as a de
facto United States protectorate in 1902.
As a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting
political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio
Batista in 1952.] Further unrest and instability
led to Batista's ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement,
which afterwards established a dictatorship under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since
1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention
during the Cold
War between the Soviet Union and
the United States, a nuclear
war nearly broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Cuba is one
of the few remaining Marxist–Leninist socialist states,
where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have
accused the Cuban government of numerous human rights abuses,
including arbitrary imprisonment. Therefore under
President John F. Kennedy's administration, the U.S. Government cut off all
relations and diplomatic ties with Cuba.
On July 11th, 2014 Vladimir Putin led a Russian delegation to
visit Cuba and signed an agreement with Cuban President Raul Castro with
intention to establish Radar system and Missile on Cuba next to US
mainland.
With the help of Pope Francis, Diplomatic representatives of
both Countries met many times in Canada.. On Dec. 16th, 2014, President Barack
Obama made phone call with Cuban President Raul Castro and both leaders agreed
to lift off any bans and embargo on Cuba since 1962 to re-establish full
diplomatic relations between Cuba and USA.
On April 11, 2015 President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro
met and checked hands for the first time at the America Latina summit in
Panama. On April 14th, 2014, the U.S. State Department withdrew the name of
Cuba from the list or Countries to support terrorists.
On
Sunday, March 20th, 2016, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and
their two daughters made official first visit to Havana for opening the full
diplomatic relations between two Countries.
During
the 2016 Election campaign, Donald Trump said that he will reverse these
diplomatic ties with Cuba. Last December 2016, some American Diplomats and
their spouses in Havana got mysterious illnesses and they fear that they have
been attacked by any sonic weapons from Cuban Government.
Today
at 09:00AM, the news said that a phone call from US State Department to Cuban
Ambassador in Washington DC to inform that the Trump's administration has
decided to expel 15 Cuban Embassy personnel within 7 days.
Please read this important news on I rish Times at:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us-expels-15-cuban-diplomats-from-washington-embassy-1.3243284
VietPress USA News.
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US expels 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington embassy
Move is in response to mysterious illnesses affecting American staff in Havana
The Trump administration expelled 15 Cuban diplomats from the embassy in Washington in an escalating response to mysterious illnesses afflicting US eEmbassy personnel in Havana.
The expulsions were intended to force the Cubans to operate their embassy in Washington under the same emergency conditions that the United States is now operating under in Havana, the US said.
The Trump administration decided last week to pare its staff in Havana down to a skeletal group of just 27 people who can carry out emergency services.
A State Department official said that the Cuban government would need to give a clear assurance that the attacks would not continue before the personnel in either embassy could return.
The expulsions represent yet another step in the administration’s gradual unwinding of the Obama administration’s rapprochement with Cuba, a reopening welcomed by much of Latin America and Europe - but criticised by many Cuban emigrants now living in Florida and elsewhere.
In a briefing with reporters Tuesday morning, State Department officials said that the Cuban ambassador in Washington was informed of the expulsions in a 9am phone call.
Sonic attack
The expelled embassy personnel must be out of the United States within seven days. By then, the US embassy in Havana will have completed its own drawdown.
The actions are in retaliation for a worrisome series of illnesses that began affecting US diplomats and their spouses last December.
By late January, the administration had decided the illnesses were related and may have resulted from some sort of attack, perhaps by a sonic device, toxin or virus.
In a press statement, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States was expelling 15 Cuban diplomats “due to Cuba’s failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention.”
Mr Tillerson added that “this order will ensure equity in our respective diplomatic operations.”
State Department officials emphasised that they are not accusing the Cuban government of complicity in the attacks. “We continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba, and will continue to cooperate with Cuba as we pursue the investigation into these attacks,” Mr Tillerson said.
While Trump administration officials stressed that their action did not amount to a change in US policy toward Cuba or an end to diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana, the practical effect will be a stark turnaround in the relationship and a return to the days preceding the Obama administration detente, when the two countries’ dealings were dysfunctional and fraught with suspicion.
Damaging hostility
Proponents of the move toward normalisation said the action threatened to create a new chapter of hostility between Cuba and the United States, playing into the hands of those who wish to reverse the thaw.
It would be especially damaging, they argued, if - as some current and former officials suspect - the Cuban government is not even behind the attacks and the chill were to continue indefinitely.
“If this is not the government, but rather other forces seeking to undermine the US-Cuba relationship, a permanent downgrade would accomplish that objective for them,” said Benjamin J Rhodes, the former Obama administration deputy national security adviser who helped to negotiate the move toward normalisation.
The number of staff thought to have been affected has gradually grown over the months, and on Tuesday the State Department added one more to the list, bringing the number to 22.
For some, the injuries appear permanent, with symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance and visual problems, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping.
Some of those affected reported hearing odd sounds in particular rooms of their homes, leading some experts to speculate that some kind of sonic weapon or faulty surveillance device may have been at fault.
The administration expelled two low-level Cuban diplomats in May in response to the illnesses, but with more diplomats and their spouses becoming ill in the months since, calls grew on Capitol Hill for a more forceful response.
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