Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that the U.S. was considering closing its embassy in Havana, Cuba, CNN reported.
“We have it under evaluation,” Tillerson said on CBS’s Face the Nation.
A group of five Republican senators wrote to Tillerson, requesting the U.S. declare Cuban diplomats unwelcome and shutter the embassy in Cuba, which the U.S. opened near the end of former President Barack Obama’s second term. U.S. government officials have said State Department employees in the Havana embassy were subject to mysterious “acoustic” attacks that led to serious health problems.
Tillerson addressed the concern, but did not specify what would happen.
“It’s a very serious issue with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered,” Tillerson said.
“We’ve brought some of those people home. It’s under review.”
Obama eased the decades-long blockade on Cuba and sought to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries. After taking office, President Donald Trump said he was “canceling” the deal with Cuba and would return the U.S. to a more adversarial posture with the island nation to spur it to do more to honor human rights.
In June, Trump unveiled new restrictions on travel and business with Cuba.
Before Trump’s announcement, Tillerson said he believed Obama’s approach had benefited the Cuban government without changing its behavior or the country’s human rights situation.
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