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Agence France-Presse

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met his Cuban counterpart Tuesday amid a fierce dispute over alleged attacks on the health of American diplomats in Havana.
The meeting – the first between the two men since Donald Trump entered the White House in January – took place behind closed doors, the US State Department said.
The Cuban government requested the meeting according to spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who added Tillerson would have “plenty of questions.”
At least 21 Americans and five Canadian families have been hurt since last year in what Tillerson has described as “health attacks” and which US officials think may have come from an “acoustic device.”
“The latest medically confirmed incident took place in August,” a US State Department official said – not ruling out additional cases as “medical professionals continue to evaluate” diplomats posted to Cuba and their families.
“We do not have definitive answers on the source or cause of the incidents,” the official added.
Last week, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla told the UN General Assembly that his country had found no evidence to link the symptoms to any outside assault.
But Tillerson said last week the United States is considering whether to close its embassy in Cuba following the alleged attacks, which US authorities say began last year and continued to at least last month.
According to a union representing US overseas staff, the victims have suffered a variety of symptoms and injuries, including in some cases brain trauma and hearing loss.
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 has never perpetrated nor will it ever perpetrate actions of this sort. Cuba has never allowed nor will it ever allow its territory to be used by third parties with that purpose,” Parrilla said.
Relations between the United States and Cuba were restored by then president Barack Obama and his counterpart Raul Castro in 2015, half a century after the cold war rivals cut ties and began a long diplomatic stand-off.


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United States

Tillerson meets Cuban minister to discuss ‘health attacks’ on US diplomats

Rex Tillerson, US secretary of State, has held a closed-door meeting with his Cuban counterpart. Photo: Bloomberg

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla of Cuba addresses the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Friday, Sept. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Did covert Cuban spy gear cause US and Canadian diplomats to lose their hearing?

A classic car passes in front of the US embassy in Havana, Cuba. Photo: EPA

FILE - In this july 20, 2015 file photo, a member of the Cuban honor guard stands next to a new plaque at the front door of the newly reopened Cuban embassy in Washington. The State Department has expelled two diplomats from Cuba’s Embassy in Washington following a series of unexplained incidents in Cuba that left U.S. officials there with physical symptoms. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File, Pool)

US may close its Cuba embassy after mysterious ‘acoustic attacks’ on diplomats: Tillerson

The US Embassy in Havana, Cuba. No fewer than 21 Americans have been hurt in what has been dubbed an acoustic attack on the US mission in Cuba, the State Department says. Photo: AFP

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2015, file photo, a U.S. flag flies at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba. U.S. investigators are chasing many theories about what’s harming American diplomats in Cuba, including a sonic attack, electromagnetic weapon or flawed spying device. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a press conference after talks with Chinese diplomatic and defense chiefs at the State Department in Washington, U.S. June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

United States demands Cuba investigate ‘health attacks’ on diplomats using mysterious sonic device

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