The United States on Monday strongly condemned the reported attack on Cuba’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., which allegedly involved two Molotov cocktails being thrown at the building.
An assailant threw two Molotov cocktails at the embassy on Sept. 24, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla stated on X, formerly known as Twitter. No injuries were reported as a result of the attack.
U.S. Secret Service officers were called around 8 p.m. Sunday to respond to the attack. There was no fire or significant damage to the building resulting from the attack. No arrests have been made so far.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan denounced the attack and said that U.S. authorities are in contact with Cuban Embassy officials and law enforcement authorities following the incident.
“Attacks against diplomatic facilities are unacceptable,” Mr. Sullivan said in a statement on Sept. 25.
“We are in contact with Cuban embassy officials and law enforcement authorities to ensure an appropriate and timely investigation as well as to offer our support for future protective efforts,” he added.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez also condemned the attack, labeling it “a terrorist attack,” which he said involved “violence and impotence that could have cost valuable lives.”
“We denounce it and await action from the North American authorities,” Mr. Bermudez stated. The attack occurred just hours after his return from New York, where he attended the United Nations General Assembly.
Lianys Torres Rivera, chargé d'affaires of the Cuban Embassy in the United States, said the embassy promptly contacted U.S. authorities, “who were given access to the Mission to take samples of the Molotov cocktails.”
Mr. Parrilla said he believes that “anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism when feeling they enjoy impunity,” a concern that the Cuban government “has repeatedly warned the U.S. authorities about.”
This incident marks the second attack on Cuba’s Embassy following a 2020 attack, when a Cuban man who sought asylum in the United States opened fire with an assault rifle and fired several rounds at the embassy.
The shooting left bullet holes in the glass around the embassy’s door, and bullets pierced the bronze statue of Jose Marti, the Cuban writer and national hero, as well as the columns and facade of the building. No injuries were reported but Cuban officials reported property damage.
U.S. authorities arrested Alexander Alazo following the 2020 attack. Authorities said the man told them he opened fire because he wanted to “get them before they could get him.” The man reportedly fired approximately 32 rounds of an assault-style weapon at the embassy.
Cuba built the embassy in 1917. It closed in January 1961 as Cold War tensions between the two countries escalated, and it reopened as an “interests section” in 1977. In July 2015, it became an embassy again as the two countries restored relations under President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro.
