Credit: Wikipedia Commons /  Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Washington, D.C.

Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at Cuba’s embassy in Washington DC Sunday in what Cuba officials are labeling a “terrorist attack.”   They blamed the attack on “anti-Cuban” groups.  There were no injuries or damage reported at the embassy located in Washington’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. 

“During the night of September 24, 2023, a terrorist attack occurred against the premises of the Cuban Embassy in the US, when an individual threw two Molotov cocktails from the sidewalk over the perimeter fence of the facility, which hit the front wall of that diplomatic mission.”

-Statement by Cuban Embassy in US

White House Condemns Reported Attack on Cuban Embassy 

“The United States strongly condemns Sunday’s reported attack on the Cuban embassy in Washington, DC. Attacks against diplomatic facilities are unacceptable,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.  He said the US is in contact with Cuban embassy officials and law enforcement authorities to ensure an “appropriate and timey investigation as well as to offer our support for future protective efforts.”

In 2020, Gunman With Assault Rifle Opens Fire On CUBA Embassy in D.C.

On Apr. 30,  2020, a man who popped off nearly three dozen rounds from an AK-47 rifle at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. last Thursday claimed he heard “voices in his head.”  Alexander Alazo, 42, of Aubrey, Texas, was arrested  opening fire at about 2 a.m. outside the embassy located in the 2600 block of 16th Street in Northwest D.C.  No embassy personnel were hurt but that the gunfire damaged the building.  According to authorities, Alazo told investigators he was born in Cuba and served in the Cuban Army,  then  moved to Mexico in 2003 before claiming political asylum in the U.S. a few years later. 

Cuba accused the U.S. of not taking the attacks against its U.S. embassy seriously and encouraging anti-Cuban “terrorism”. 

“Anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism due to the moral bankruptcy of their hatred against Cuba and the impunity they believe they enjoy. The Ministry warns once again about the message that is being conveyed regarding the attitude of the US government in the face of threats of this type against the Cuban diplomatic headquarters, but also against those of other countries in the city of Washington D.C.”

-Statement by Cuban Embassy in US  Sept. 26, 2023. 

(credit: vietnamnet.vn)  Cuban Ambassador to U.S.  Lianys Torres Rivera 

Cuban Ambassador to the U.S. Lianys Torres Rivera said:

“The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns this terrorist action and hopes that the United States Government will act in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, in the interest of avoiding the repetition of these events.”