Cuban President strongly condemns attack on Cuban Embassy in US
A shooting occurred at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC on the morning of April 30 (local time), causing damage to facilities but fortunately no one was killed or injured.
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| Police investigate at the Cuban Embassy. Photo: AP |
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on April 30 strongly condemned the shooting attack on the Cuban Embassy in the United States and asked Washington authorities to quickly investigate the incident.
According to a VNA reporter in Havana, on Twitter, the Cuban leader also emphasized that countries have the obligation to protect permanent foreign missions on their territory.
Earlier the same day, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez announced details of the attack, while affirming that Havana had not yet received contact from Washington about the incident.
Speaking live on national television, Foreign Minister Rodriguez affirmed that the Cuban Foreign Ministry in Washington has a security system sufficient to deal with any threat against diplomats and their families. However, the Cuban government is waiting for a full and timely investigation by the US government into the identity and motives of the perpetrators.
Following the incident, Foreign Minister Rodriguez summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Havana, Mara Tekach, to protest the "serious attack" and questioned the US diplomatic representative about the Washington government's response if a similar incident occurred at any other embassy in the US.
Mr. Rodríguez also requested closer cooperation from the US Government in investigating the incident to ensure that similar actions are punished and not repeated.
He also requested the US State Department to take necessary measures to ensure the safety of Cuban diplomatic staff on US territory in accordance with the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Earlier, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) issued a statement saying that a shooting occurred at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC, in the early morning of April 30 (local time). Minrex's statement confirmed that there were no casualties but there was damage to the facilities at the diplomatic mission's headquarters in the US. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs also officially requested the local authorities to clarify the cause and motive of the attack.
US police have arrested a subject believed to be related to the above incident. Currently, Washington DC police and the US Secret Service are investigating./.
