The diplomacy of hostility: U.S. Embassy in Cuba reinforces its offensive with meetings and support to the opposition
May 31, 2025 Hour: 12:43 pm
U.S. embassy chief meets with opponents and reinforces Washington’s hostile policy against CubaWritten
By: Gabriel Vera Lopes(Text originally published on Brasil de Fato)
Since Donald Trump assumed the presidency of the United States, diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana have become increasingly tense, delicate, and complex. As expected, with the return of the tycoon, U.S. hostility towards the Caribbean Island has regained momentum in the White House.
In recent weeks, tension has intensified due to the controversial actions of the chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Michael A. Hammer, who has begun a tour of the Caribbean Island in order to meet with different sectors of the political opposition.In early May, Hammer posted a brief video in which he announced that he would tour the island to listen to “anyone who would like to share their perspectives and ideas”. The message was posted on the official social networks of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.Since then, the head of the mission has held several meetings with opposition figures, published through his social networks. Havana has described these actions as provocative and interfering in the country’s internal affairs.
According to analysts consulted by Brasil de Fato, the U.S. diplomatic representation seeks to provoke a crisis through deliberately interventionist actions, widely spread on social networks.One of the key points of the debate on the embassy’s performance is Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that “The diplomatic personnel have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State.”While Havana points out that Hammer is overstepping the bounds of traditional diplomacy in order to enter the realm of political intervention, U.S. officials claim that these meetings are just a way to “get to know the country” and “listen to Cuban citizens.”
On Friday 30, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a communiqué informing that it had summoned the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires “in protest of his disrespectful behavior.”According to the communiqué, the U.S. embassy would be encouraging “Cuban citizens to commit criminal acts of notable gravity, attempt against the constitutional order, act against the authorities and demonstrate in support of the interests and objectives of a hostile foreign power, which constitutes a provocative and irresponsible behavior on the part of the diplomat.”Likewise, it warns that the diplomatic immunity enjoyed by Hammer “cannot be used as a cover for acts contrary to the sovereignty and internal order of the country to which he is accredited.”“We will once again adopt a tough policy against the Cuban regime.”
Last Saturday, April 24, in the framework of a tour of the United States, Chief of Mission Michael Hammer held a press conference in Miami for media linked to the Cuban opposition. During the conference, he addressed the current policy of the Trump administration towards Cuba and the recent activities of the U.S. embassy on the island.
“I would start by saying – and I think you already know this, but it is worth reinforcing it – that the policy of the Trump administration, headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is very clear. Secretary Rubio himself already stated it on February 4, when he said: we will once again adopt a tough policy against the Cuban regime,” he said at the beginning of his speech.”
These words coincide with an escalation of restrictive measures imposed by President Donald Trump since his return to the White House in January 2024. Reinstating Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and adding it to the list of nations that do not fully cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts are some of these measures; decisions that directly impact trade and foreign investment on the island.
Hammer also noted during the press conference that the U.S. government is tightening immigration laws that prevent granting visas to members of Cuba’s Communist Party leadership and those who have held high-ranking positions in recent years.
On the work of the U.S. embassy in Cuba, Hammer assured that the meetings will continue. “It is important, once again, to establish contact with the Cuban people to make it clear that the Trump administration and our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, are attentive to their situation, concerned about it and want to see changes,” he said.
The press conference was rebroadcast by Radio and TV Martí, self-described “independent” media, but financed by the U.S. government to promote ‘‘democracy’ and “freedom of information” on the island.
These media are financed by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), the agency that oversees their broadcasts. In March 2024, it received $25 million in public funds to sustain its operations.
In early January 2025, through its X account (formerly Twitter), the U.S. Embassy reported that Hammer had “visited Radio y Televisión Martí during his stay in Miami to learn more about the work they do reporting on what is happening in Cuba.”
For her part, Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister for U.S. Affairs, Johana Tablada, publicly responded on social networks, denouncing that Hammer’s press conference was not a neutral event, but a “carefully planned political operation.”
She pointed out that the purpose of the event was to legitimize diplomatic interference as “solidarity”, to cover up the sanctions imposed by the United States, to exempt the country from being responsible for the economic blockade, and to position counterrevolutionary leaders -financed by Washington- as legitimate spokespersons of the Cuban people.
From “sonic attack” to diplomatic offensive
Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba remained broken since 1961, when Washington officially cut ties with the island. More than fifty years later, a process of rapprochement began.
In 2015, during the administrations of Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, a dialogue initiative known as the “thaw” began, which led to the normalization of diplomatic relations and the reopening of embassies in both capitals.
Although the economic blockade was maintained -since its revocation depends on the approval of the U.S. Congress-, the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Havana was an important step in the “normalization of relations”, aimed at facilitating dialogue on migration and economic issues.
However, this process was short-lived. With the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency in 2017, U.S. policy toward Cuba once again adopted a clearly hostile tone. The Republican administration implemented what it called a “maximum pressure” strategy, reversing all the rapprochement measures promoted by the Obama administration and imposing new and severe economic sanctions.
In that context, in September 2017, the United States decided to withdraw all non-essential personnel from its embassy in Cuba. The State Department justified the sudden measure by alleging that, for several months, its employees had been experiencing a series of unexplained symptoms, such as dizziness, vertigo, confusion, and partial hearing loss. Without providing concrete evidence, the institution attributed these episodes to alleged “sonic attacks.”
The international press was quick to echo the State Department’s accusations, calling the phenomenon the “Havana syndrome”. At the time, the Associated Press (AP) released an audio recording made by diplomatic officials as proof of the alleged “sonic attack”. The “strange sound” was described by the diplomats as a noise heard during the night.
Given the seriousness of the allegations, the audio was subjected to a scientific investigation conducted by the universities of Berkeley (United States) and Lincoln (United Kingdom). The results, published in 2019, revealed that the sound in question was nothing more than the chirping of a common cricket.
In spite of the unusual nature of the case, the accusations had already had specific effects: the Trump administration used the alleged “attack” as justification to drastically reduce embassy staff and suspend much of the consular services offered to Cuban citizens.
Despite electoral promises, during Joe Biden’s Democratic administration most of the sanctions imposed by his predecessor remained in place. Cuba remained on the “list of state sponsors of terrorism”, drawn up unilaterally by the U.S. State Department, despite repeated calls from the international community for its removal – including from the UN General Assembly, until just a week before the end of the Democratic administration.
With Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20, the “maximum pressure” policy was once again a priority in Washington.
Author: Gabriel Vera Lopes
Source: Brasil de Fato