The US Embassy in Cuba stated that the refusal to issue visas to the group of 23 Cubans who would attend the Los Angeles People’s Summit was not for political reasons.
“The accusations that we wrongly refused visas for the people’s summit are false. Due to the departure of non-emergency personnel following abnormal health events, nonimmigrant visa appointments are only available under very limited circumstances. Cubans seeking alternate nonimmigrant visa dates should apply at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate outside of Cuba.” publicly the message on her official Twitter profile.
Last Wednesday, May 18, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla publicly on their social networks: “The United States no longer has the pretense of not yet issuing invitations to hide the exclusion of hemisphere countries from the summit they are convening on behalf of “America”. The Monroe Doctrine continues to guide US behavior toward the region.”
Faced with the refusal to issue a visa to the Cuban delegation, the People’s Summit for Democracy said it was “outraged” to see the decision “as an affront to the same democratic values that the US government and its ‘Summit of the Americas’ intend to defend . With this decision and Cuba’s exclusion from the official Biden summit, Cuba has been denied a voice in important discussions about democracy, integration and regional cooperation.”
The reopening of the consulate in Havana, “limited” and “gradual”, had been announced on March 3 by Timothy Zúñiga-Brown, US embassy chargé d’affaires, without giving an exact date at that time.
After four years of closure after mysterious attacks on its diplomatic staff were discovered, known as “Havana Syndrome,” this diplomatic headquarters has restarted issuing visas to Cubans.