Friday, August 25, 2017

American diplomats under attack in Cuba? Did 2014-2017 concessions worsen Castro regime's behavior?

 Keep an eye on this disturbing story.

Are U.S. diplomats under attack in Cuba?
 The results, of the attempt to normalize relations with an abnormal regime in Cuba, according to The Washington Post editorial this evening, "have been dismal" and now "there's another sinister cost to tally" beyond the worsening human rights situation for Cubans since 2014 now apparently U.S. diplomats at the embassy in Havana have been severely harmed.. CBS News reported on August 24, 2017 that they had obtained and reviewed medical records "showing mild traumatic brain injuries and possible damage to the central nervous system as a result of the attacks." Furthermore, the number of injured diplomats identified had risen from an initial five to 16.

On August 9, 2017 State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert in a briefing revealed that two Cuban diplomats were expelled from the United States on May 23, 2017 in response to "incidents in Cuba."  U.S. officials reported initially that five U.S. diplomats were targeted by a "sonic weapon" that led to "severe hearing loss" that led to some of them canceling their tours and returning early to the United States.
 
A day later the Associated Press reported that the Canadian government had reported that at least one Canadian diplomat in Cuba has also been treated for hearing loss.

The attacks began in November of 2016 during the previous Administration which apparently had no knowledge of what was going on or downplayed it out of fear that it would tarnish President Obama's Cuba normalization legacy.

Back on December 17, 2014 this blog made the following observation: "Rewarding the hardline and rogue elements in the Castro regime is unlikely to improve the dictatorship's behavior to the contrary it may worsen."

Congress should hold hearings to find out what happened and if it is still happening and get to the bottom of what happened to 16 U.S. diplomats based in Cuba.

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