US Orders Majority Of Cuban Embassy Workers Home After 21 Diplomats Attacked

Some of the diplomats were injured in a hotel in the Cuban capital near the embassy.

The Trump administration had announced in June that it would leave airline and cruise travel to Cuba mostly intact, but it would clamp down on travel companies, such as USA -based hotel companies, doing business with the Cuban military.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning on Friday, citing a series of “specific attacks” on U.S. embassy employees, some of which occurred in Cuban hotels. Officials are also ordering all nonessential embassy staff members out of the country. Only “emergency personnel” will stay.

The U.S. Foreign Service Association, the union representing U.S. diplomats expressed today their opposition to the withdrawal of personnel from the embassy in Cuba following incidents reported by some employees. The Cuban government has denied responsibility for the so-called health attacks.

The US would no longer send official delegations to Cuba or conduct bilateral meetings in Cuba, but would hold any talks in the United States. Even if the decision to reduce diplomatic staff in Cuba is out of an abundance of caution, USA reluctance to engage Cuba diplomatically will bolster Havana’s dependence on Venezuela in the short term. The United States and Cuba reopened embassies in Washington and Havana in 2015 after a half-century of estrangement.

At least 21 staff reported health problems ranging from mild brain trauma and deafness to dizziness and nausea.

“We don’t know the means or the methods or how these attacks are being carried out”, the official said, noting that it appears USA embassy personnel are most at risk. 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”.

Numerous observers doubt that Cuba would have risked antagonizing its neighbors at the end of 2016 – when relations between the former Cold War enemies were thawing, before they deteriorated under Trump. In contrast, in Cuba, “they have no evidence to indicate that US travelers at risk during their visits to Cuba”.

Williams also noted that Engage Cuba was concerned about how the cessation of visa issuance would affect the Cuban people and their families in the U.S.as well as the effects on Cuban society as a whole.

President Donald Trump already has reversed much of the easing of relations initiated by Obama after calling a deal struck by the two countries “completely one-sided”.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said America would maintain diplomatic ties with Cuba and the two countries would continue to co-operate in investigating the attacks.

Previously the U.S. media reported the USA was planning to withdraw most of its diplomats from Cuban capital of Havana after embassy workers allegedly suffered brain injuries caused by sonic weapons. They say the steps will remain until Cuba can assure the USA its diplomats are safe.