“Hate launched again last night a terrorist attack against our Embassy in Washington, in a act of violence and helplessness that could have cost valuable lives,” said the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, on his X account, formerly Twitter.
The chancellor Bruno Rodriguez had reported during Sunday night on the same social network that the Cuban embassy had been the target of a “terrorist attack by an individual who threw 2 Molotov cocktails”but the staff of the diplomatic representation did not suffer damage.
The US condemnation
The government of US President Joe Biden, which maintains a tense relationship with Cuba, under embargo since 1962, “strongly condemns the reported attack”he stated this Monday night in a statement Jake Sullivan White House National Security Advisor. “Attacks against diplomatic facilities are unacceptable,” he said.
Sullivan specified that the government is “in contact with Cuban embassy officials and law enforcement authorities to ensure an appropriate and timely investigation,” as well as to offer “support for future protection efforts.”
The Cuban ambassador to the United States, Lianys Torres Riverastated in X that the US authorities were allowed access to the diplomatic legation “to take samples of the Molotov cocktails.”
Washington recognizes that the protection of embassies is part of its “obligations under the Vienna Conventions” and “is committed to the security of diplomatic facilities and the diplomats who work there,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Foreign Minister Rodríguez has emphasized that this is the “second violent attack against the diplomatic headquarters in Washington”, in reference to another incident that occurred in April 2020when a man fired shots at the Cuban embassy in the US capital.
Mexico has expressed its solidarity with Cuba by calling for “a thorough investigation and bringing those responsible to justice,” according to a statement from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The attack on Sunday night occurred a few hours after Díaz-Canel returned to Havana after having spent the entire week in New York.where he attended the United Nations General Assembly and other activities with Cuban supporters in the United States.
In NY were also registered demonstrations by Cubans against the presence of Díaz-Canel at the UN Assembly, according to messages and videos spread on social networks.
“Anti-Cuban groups turn to terrorism because they feel impunity, something that Cuba has repeatedly warned US authorities about,” said Rodríguez. in X.
No conviction for the 2020 attacker
After the April 2020 attack, US authorities arrested Alexander Alazo, 42 years old and resident of Texas, accused of “assault with intent to kill.”
However, “After three years, the perpetrator of the incident still awaits trial and the United States government has refused to classify the incident as a terrorist act,” the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Upon his arrival at the White House in January 2021, the US president promised to review the policy towards Cubabut changed his mind after the anti-government demonstrations in July of that same year on the island, which left one dead and dozens injured, and after which hundreds of protesters remain imprisoned.
Before leaving power in 2021, his Republican predecessor, donald trumponce again included Cuba in the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and later added it to the list of nations that do not respect religious freedom.
As of today, a normalization of relations with the communist island does not seem to be on Biden’s agenda despite some measures in the area of immigration and the lifting of certain travel restrictions and the sending of remittances.
Source: Ambito
