The United States has accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its chief diplomat in Havana after small groups of Cubans allegedly intimidated him during meetings with residents and church representatives outside the capital. Reuters reports this, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that amid rising tensions between the two countries, the US State Department accused the Cuban government on social media of "failed intimidation tactics" and demanded that Havana stop "sending individuals to interfere with the diplomatic work" of US Chargé d'Affaires Mike Hammer.
Hammer, a career diplomat who arrived in Cuba in late 2024, has traveled extensively around the island to meet with political dissidents, Catholic Church representatives, and others. The Cuban government accuses him of seeking to stir up unrest
It is indicated that on Saturday, Hammer published a video describing "probable harassment" after meeting with local church leaders.
When I left the parish, several communists, undoubtedly frustrated with how badly the revolution was going, shouted obscenities at me
Subsequently, several more videos appeared, showing small groups of people in two locations during night power outages, mocking Hammer with shouts of "Murderer!" and "Imperialist!".
The media adds that the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year reprimanded Hammer for behavior it called "interventionist" and claimed that he incited Cubans to commit crimes and attacks against the state. The US Embassy denies these accusations and claims that Hammer is simply doing his job.
Context
The other day, US President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency due to the threat from Cuba, introducing a new tariff system. This will allow the US to impose tariffs on goods from countries that supply oil to Cuba.
In response, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez declared an "international state of emergency" due to the situation in relations with the United States.