The Cuban embassy in Washington on Sunday night experienced a harrowing incident when an individual launched two Molotov cocktails at the premises, which the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, described as a "terrorist attack."
None of the embassy staff suffered any harm during this disturbing event.
Regrettably, this marked the second assault on the Cuban mission in Washington in recent years, following a shooting incident that occurred in April 2020. Fortunately, there were no injuries resulting from that earlier attack.
The timing of this latest attack is noteworthy, as it unfolded mere hours after Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel returned to Havana from his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, during which he engaged in various activities with Cuban communities in the United States.
During his stay in New York, there were demonstrations by Cuban residents in the United States who voiced their opposition to Diaz-Canel's presence at the UN. Reports and videos shared on social media attest to these protests.
In the wake of the attack, Minister Rodriguez pointed out that "anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism when they feel they enjoy impunity," underscoring Cuba's repeated warnings to U.S. authorities regarding such threats.
Recalling the 2020 incident, the Cuban Foreign Minister summoned the then U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Havana, Mara Tekach, to express a vehement protest against what he characterised as "terrorist aggression" against the embassy. The shooting in 2020 resulted in bullet holes in the exterior walls and columns, a broken street lamp, and damage to several panes of glass and mouldings on the front of the building.
In response to the 2020 attack, US authorities arrested Alexander Alazo, then 42, who was subsequently indicted in July 2020 and charged with multiple offences, including the "violent attack on a foreign official or official premises using a deadly weapon," according to the US Justice Department.
