Every Cuban diplomat in the United States should be expelled and the U.S. embassy should be closed in the wake a mysterious attack that left several U.S. officials injured, according to a group of five Republican senators.
“[W]e ask that you immediately declare all accredited Cuban diplomats in the United States persona non grata and, if Cuba does not take tangible action, close the U.S. Embassy in Havana,” the senators wrote in a Thursday letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that was released Friday. “Cuba’s neglect of its duty to protect our diplomats and their families cannot go unchallenged.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, and Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford. The five senators sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee and their letter confirmed some of the reported details about the injuries sustained by westerners.
“Our officials and their families have been the targets of unacceptable levels of harassment and ‘acoustic’ attacks that, in some cases, have caused permanent hearing damage and other significant injuries,” they wrote.
Several U.S. and Canadian officials serving in Cuba have suffered mysterious symptoms dating back to the end of 2016. In February, the State Department complained about the incidents to the Castro regime, which denied any wrongdoing, but that didn’t end the incidents. There’s a growing interest on Capitol Hill for President Trump to suspend diplomatic relations with Cuba in response.
The State Department has kept a close hold on information about the attacks. Two Cuban diplomats were expelled in May, but their removal wasn’t acknowledged publicly by the Trump administration until August. The expulsion of the two officials didn’t deter further attacks: a total of 21 Americans have been harmed, including some who were affected as recently as late August.
“The investigation into all of this is still underway,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Thursday. “It is an aggressive investigation that continues, and we will continue doing this until we find out who or what is responsible for this . . . We are not aware of anything that has taken place since [August], but our people continue to undergo tests. The symptoms – and I’ll be vague about this, but can be different in different people. And I’m not going to get into any specifics beyond that.”
The senators want aggressive pressure on Cuban officials to prevent further attacks.
“The safety of U.S. diplomatic personnel and their families posted overseas remains one of our high priorities and a shared responsibility of those nations that host U.S. diplomatic facilities,” they wrote. “We urge you to remind the Cuban government of its obligation and to demand that it take verifiable action to remove these threats to our personnel and their families.”
