Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /  Jeffrey DeLaurentis, former Chargé d’affaires at  U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba under President Obama, speaks at Columbia University on US-Cuba relations  in New York City Oct. 29, 2019. 

By Gary Raynaldo    /  DIPLOMATIC TIMES

“The proudest day of my career was when President Obama nominated me to be the U.S. Ambassador to Cuba,” Jeffrey DeLaurentis said. DeLaurentis is an American diplomat who served as the Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Embassy of the United States, Havana from 2015 to 2017. Speaking at Columbia University in New York City on Wednesday October 30,  DeLaurentis reflected on his long career in the foreign service and, in particular, his leading the embassy during the historic U.S.-Cuban detente and restoration of diplomatic ties in July 2015.  The diplomat reviewed the current state of US-Cuban relations and the trajectory for the future during his presentation at Columbia University’s Institute of Latin American Studies Cuba and Beyond Series.   The activation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 by the Trump government in May has opened the door for lawsuits filed with U.S. courts over the use in Cuba of nationalized land and property after the 1959 revolution. The U.S. Trump administration also put in place actions that prohibit U.S. cruise travel, and restrictions on people-to-people travel to Cuba.

“The US-Cuba relationship has descended to its lowest point in decades.  It is very painful to  watch the Obama U.S. engagement with Cuba grind to a halt.”

-Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis 

U.S.’s  ‘Man In Havana’  Worked Diligently To Normalize Relations With Cuba 

On September 27, 2016, President Obama announced his intent to nominate DeLaurentis to be the first U.S. Ambassador to Cuba in over 50 years:

President Obama said:  “Today, I am proud to nominate Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis to be the first U.S. Ambassador to Cuba in more than 50 years.  Jeff’s leadership has been vital throughout the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, and the appointment of an ambassador is a common sense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries. There is no public servant better suited to improve our ability to engage the Cuban people and advance U.S. interests in Cuba than Jeff. ”  

Credit: twitter.com / Jeffrey DeLaurentis  served as the top diplomatic official at the U.S. Embassy in Havana  from 2014-2017.

Sen. Marco Rubio  Voiced Strong Objection To Obama’s Nomination of a US Ambassador to Cuba

Obama's nod of a US ambassador to Cuba should go nowhere until the Castro regime makes significant progress on human rights & pol freedom

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 28, 2016

The former ambassador to Cuba fondly shared his experiences working to normalize US-Cuba relations after his appointment as the top diplomatic official at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.  DeLaurentis said negotiations began in early 2014 and culminated in the historic announcement by President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on December 17, 2014 on the new policy of engagement by the two countries. Today, DeLaurentis said the Trump administration continues to reverse Obama’s policies with sanctions against Cuba.  “US Special Envoy to  Venezuela Elliot Abrams this month called for new sanctions for Cuba over its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.  I poured my heart and soul into the normalization process (relations between US – Cuba),” the diplomat said.

Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /  Jeffrey DeLaurentis, former Chargé d’affaires at  U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba under President Obama, speaks at Columbia University on US-Cuba relations  in New York City,, Oct. 29, 2019. 

“One of the most difficult moments for me professionally was to sit back in the U.S. Embassy on  June 16, 2017,  DeLaurentis said, recalling when President Trump announced his new Cuba policy that set out to reverse and gut major parts of the Obama engagement.  “I departed Cuba 21 days later in July. For me, after six months of expressing opposition inside the Embassy , trying to keep morale up,  I could no longer hold in my reaction to the policy changes that I had been opposed to, looking at everything going down the tubes.”

Obama Administration Began Plan Of Secret Talks With Cuba 

DeLaurentis said the Obama Administration began a plan of engagement with Cuba with secret talks. “The secret talks took place in Canada with secret negotiations. The Cubans were really suspicious. We began with third-party engagement and sealed the deal October 28, 2014, the diplomat said. “In November 2014, negotiations concluded,” he remembered.  DeLaurentis said the negotiations included Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, who was Cuba’s third-most powerful political figure at the time.   On June 20, 2015, the U.S. re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in half a century of previous isolation. “I was very fortunate to be in Havana when President Obama and Raul Castro signed the historic agreement,” DeLaurentis said.   Obama was the first U.S. President to visit Cuba since 1928. 

Source: pbs.org/newshour /  U.S., Cuba agree to open embassies in each other’s capitals July 2015. 

Mysterious Illness Among Staff At U.S. Embassy in Havana

Nearly three years ago, U.S. diplomats in Cuba began experiencing hearing loss, dizziness and memory problems — in what the Trump administration attributed to an attack of unknown origin.  In 2017, the State Department said the employees may have been victims of a “sonic attack” that harmed their brains: Their symptoms reportedly arose after they heard intense, high-pitched sounds in their homes or hotel rooms. But the alleged events remain unsolved. And there has been no objective evidence of any brain injuries, according to U.S. News and World Reports. 

Addressing this issue during the question and answer session at DeLaurentis’ talk at Columbia University,  the diplomat said:

“It is still a fairly sensitive topic.  Folks still don’t know(what happened)  Something did happen. I hope the people who were effected get medical help.”

Cuba Is Not Running Venezuela:    DeLaurentis 

Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /  Jeffrey DeLaurentis, former Chargé d’affaires at  U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba under President Obama, speaks at Columbia University on US-Cuba relations  in New York City,, Oct. 29, 2019.

DeLaurentis also commented on the Trump administration’s  battle against  Cuba for its support of Maduro’s  Venezuela.  U.S. officials have claimed that  Cuban military advisers in Venezuela are a mainstay of the Maduro regime, with some estimates of 25,000 in Venezuela.  “They first said there were 25,000 Cuban troops in Venezuela, then they scaled it down.  There may be a handful there. No one really knows. I suppose it depends on one’s political perspective.”   The diplomat added: “Cuba is not running Venezuela. Cuba is too busy trying to run their own county.”

DeLaurentis said he is optimistic regarding future US-Cuba relations and has a sense of pride in his efforts establishing  positive diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“I remain very proud of my work in the process of renegotiation of U.S.-Cuba engagement. I was part of the team that finally cracked the code in U.S-Cuba relations.”

Russia Increasing Economic and Military Ties With Cuba As U.S. Isolates Havana 

DeLaurentis noted that while the current U.S. administration is moving rapidly back toward the pre-Obama isolationist policy toward Havana,  Russia is establishing closer economic and military ties with Cuba.  He pointed out that Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel is visiting Russia this week . Russian President Putin is hosting the Cuban leader for talks on expanding ties.

During his 28-year career in the Foreign Service,  Ambassador DeLaurentis worked almost exclusively on Western Hemisphere issues and as a multilateral diplomat at the United Nations. Prior to taking up his position in Cuba, Ambassador DeLaurentis served for three years as the Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Prior to that posting, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Ambassador DeLaurentis was previously Minister Counselor for Political Affairs and Security Council Coordinator at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Since beginning his State Department career in 1991, Ambassador DeLaurentis has served in a number of overseas posts including twice before in Havana, first as consular officer in 1991-93, then as Political-Economic Section Chief from 1999-2002. He also served as Political Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, and Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.  In Washington, Ambassador DeLaurentis served as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Director of Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council, and as an International Relations Officer in the Bureau of International Organizations. Prior to entering the Foreign Service, Ambassador DeLaurentis held a senior staff position at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Columbia University Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.