The State Department announced Friday that it would pull more than half its embassy staff out of Cuba after a series of apparent sonic attacks that left diplomats with a host of strange medical issues, from hearing loss to balance problems. State Department officials told CNN that consular…
The State Department announced Friday that it would pull more than half its embassy staff out of Cuba after a series of apparent sonic attacks that left diplomats with a host of strange medical issues, from hearing loss to balance problems.
State Department officials told CNN that consular officials will remain in the embassy to assist U. S. citizens in Cuba, but that the staff reductions mean the United States will immediately stop issuing visas in Cuba. All non-essential staff and their families have been ordered to leave Havana. The State Department is also urging Americans not to travel to Cuba, since some of the alleged attacks took place at hotels where Americans stay.
The administration will not punish Cuba for the attacks, the perpetrators of which are not yet known, by forcing the country to remove its diplomats from Washington. Sen. Marco Rubio, a fierce critic of the Castro regime, denounced that decision on Twitter Friday.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that “Our goal will be on the focus of what’s best for this country, not what’s best for Cuba.”
