27 September, 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with Cuba's foreign minister Tuesday amid an ongoing probe into mysterious "attacks" on American diplomats in Havana, U.S. officials said.
McClatchy also reported the Trump administration will bring many of its diplomats and their families back to the USA from Cuba because of the situation.
It was unclear whether Tillerson would disclose new details to the Cuban envoy about USA deliberations or the investigation.
Another possible line of discussion between Tillerson and Rodríguez on Tuesday was Cuba's offer of humanitarian and medical aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island earlier this month. But the State Department says Havana has been cooperating with the investigation.
Washington has not accused Cuba of being behind the attacks, but has repeatedly warned that Havana is responsible for the safety of foreign envoys on its soil, and in May two Cuban diplomats were expelled from the US. Cuba keeps tight surveillance on American diplomats in the country and would be likely to know if something significant were happening to them.
Yet while the USA has avoided blaming Cuba directly for the incidents, the growing public outrage has forced both countries to adopt a tougher tone.
Trump, during his U.N. remarks, denounced the "destabilizing regime in Cuba" and called on "the nations of the world to take a greater role in promoting secure and prosperous societies in their own region".
Tillerson said last week he was considering closing the US embassy in Cuba and expelling Cuban diplomats from the United States over the attacks after five GOP senators on the Intelligence Committee, including Chairman Richard Burr (R., N.C.), called for the drastic action. The victims reported loss of hearing and dizziness, and two may have suffered minor brain damage.
USA officials believe that the attacks may have been carried out with some sort of sonic device but have been unable to determine the cause or who is behind them.
As frustration in the United States continued to mount last week, the United States and Cuba went forward with their first formal diplomatic meeting since President Trump was elected.
"It is increasingly apparent the Cubans are involved in some way", the official said.
The withdrawal is not meant to punish the Cuban government but to protect diplomats and their families from the unusual attacks. Cuba has denied being behind the attacks, and the State Department has credited them with being cooperative in facilitating its investigation into what happened. In his United Nations speech last week, Rodriguez said early results from Cuba's own investigation have "found no evidence whatsoever that could confirm the causes or the origin" of the incidents, implicitly casting doubt on the USA version of accounts.
