Cuba asks US not to politicize diplomatic health

The Cuban government asked the US to cooperate with them in investigating health problems that occurred with US diplomats in Havana and not to politicize this issue.

Mr. Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla, Cuban Foreign Minister, speaks at the UN headquarters in New York on September 22 - Photo: REUTERS

A Cuban government source told Reuters the United States had not provided evidence of health problems, including hearing loss, dizziness and nausea, that it said diplomats and their relatives in Havana had suffered.

Cuban doctors are also not allowed to examine anyone. A spokesman for the US embassy in Havana declined to comment on this information.

"The investigation to clarify this issue is still continuing, and to be able to reach a conclusion, the cooperation of the US government is very much needed," Mr. Rodriguez said before the UN General Assembly.

"It would not be good if this issue were politicized," Mr. Rodriguez said. The Cuban government has also denied any involvement in the incident.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was among five Republican senators who a week earlier called on President Donald Trump to retaliate against Cuba by expelling its diplomats and possibly closing the U.S. embassy in Havana.

Mr. Rubio was also involved in crafting Mr. Trump's new policy toward Cuba, reversing much of the reconciliation reached under former President Barack Obama and adopting a tougher stance toward the country.

In early August, the US government acknowledged for the first time that it was investigating the incident, which it said began in late 2016. Several Canadians were also affected, according to a Canadian official, adding to the mystery.

The most recent case occurred in late August, bringing the total number of health problems among the US diplomatic mission in Cuba to 21, a US State Department official said last week.

Some of them returned home for medical treatment. Others were examined in Cuba because there was a full-time doctor there.

Investigations by the US, Canada and Cuba have so far failed to find answers about the cause of the health problems affecting the diplomats. Experts agree that it is difficult to know how these attacks were carried out and what the motive was.

According to TTO