Cuba has accused the US of conducting a half-hearted investigation into the 2023 attack on its embassy in Washington, D.C., further straining already tense relations between the two countries, according to a report
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Cuba has accused the US of conducting a half-hearted investigation into the 2023 attack on its embassy in Washington, D.C., further straining already tense relations between the two countries.
In September 2023, a man dressed in dark clothing threw two Molotov cocktails at the Cuban embassy before fleeing the scene, according to US and Cuban authorities. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the damage to the building was minimal.
Johana Tablada, Cuba’s deputy director of US affairs, said while US authorities have informed their Cuban counterparts about the investigation, they have yet to identify the attacker.
“The message is, against Cuba, you can do whatever you want,” Tablada said on Cuban television Wednesday.
She said slow progress violated US law and the international obligation of nations to protect diplomats and their embassies.
“The United States is dedicated to the protection of diplomatic personnel and premises in the United States,” Reuters quoted a US State Department official as saying.
The US Secret Service previously stated it was investigating the incident, while White House officials condemned the attack in 2023.
Johana Tablada noted that the United States has also refused to categorize the assault as a “terrorist attack.”
The US government designates Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, a label that imposes sanctions and has contributed to a severe economic crisis on the island.
In response, Cuba argues that the United States is guilty of hypocrisy for not addressing the 2023 “terrorist” attack on its diplomatic mission in Washington.
This dispute is one of several in recent years that have led to a significant downturn in Cuba-US relations, following a period of renewed cooperation during the Obama administration.
Under Obama, the Cuban embassy reopened after the countries restored diplomatic ties severed since 1961, following the end of Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959.
Cuban investigators critiqued the US investigation on Cuban television Wednesday, noting that a large number of municipal and embassy surveillance cameras near the attack should have made identifying the assailant relatively easy for US law enforcement.
In a separate attack in 2020, a US citizen born in Cuba, Alexander Alazo, opened fire on the embassy with an assault rifle. A federal judge recently said Alazo, who was arrested after the attack, would be conditionally released after psychiatric treatment.
With inputs from agencies
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Publish date : 2024-10-17 04:19:00
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