Cuba says US 'encouraged' Paris embassy Molotov cocktail attack
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Cuba denounced the targeting of its Paris embassy on Monday as a "terrorist attack" encouraged by the United States after the building was bombarded with Molotov cocktails.
Firefighters in the French capital said two incendiary devices were thrown at the delegation, located in the city's 15th arrondissement, causing minor damage.
"We denounce the Molotov cocktail terrorist attack against our Embassy in Paris @EmbaCubaFrancia," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Twitter.
In a press release, the Cuban embassy said that "terrorist acts" are "encouraged" by US government sponsored campaigns that "incite violent acts." An embassy tweet showed some of the damaged caused by the explosives.
Although nobody has claimed responsability for the attacks, French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the extreme left wing La France Insoumise ("Unbowed France") party tweeted that the "incredible and hateful" action were "a direct effect" of the "absurd campaigns of hate and the deadly boycott by the US" against Cuba.
Fire officials said they were alerted to the attack after midnight and "the devices, which caused minor damage, were extinguished before (firefighters) arrived."
Police did not immediately provide any more information.
Three Molotov cocktails -- two of which reached the embassy's facade and another that made it into the building -- struck the building at 11:45 and started a fire that was quickly put out by the mission's employees, according to the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
Demonstrations
Demonstrators marching in favor of and against the Cuban government took to the streets in cities all over the world this weekend and on Monday, coinciding with July 26 national day commemorations and just two weeks after anti-government protests erupted throughout the island nation.
Around two dozen countries, including Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, on Monday joined US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in calling on the Cuban government "to respect the legally guaranteed rights and freedoms of the Cuban people" and to "release those detained for exercising their rights to peaceful protests."
The "statements of the US secretary of state are based on the support of a handful of countries that have been pressured to accept his decrees," Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez said in a separate tweet.
"#Cuba counts the support of 184 nations that all call to #EndTheEmbargo," Rodriguez said, referring to the United States government's longstanding sanctions that have been in place since 1962.
(With agencies)
Cuban embassy in Paris targeted with petrol bombs
Foreign minister blames US government for ‘continuous campaigns against our country that encourage these behaviours’.
27 Jul 2021
The Cuban embassy in Paris says its building was attacked overnight with petrol bombs, causing serious damage but no injuries to diplomatic staff.
The embassy on Tuesday condemned the attack on its premises, located in the French capital’s 15th arrondissement.
It did not say who it thought was responsible for the incident, which occurred around midnight on Monday.
The Cuban foreign ministry’s International Press Centre said three Molotov cocktails were thrown, with two hitting the embassy and sparking a fire.
Cuban diplomats extinguished the blaze as French firefighters and police arrived at the scene, it added.
There was no immediate comment from French police, but Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez put the blame for the incident on the United States.
“I hold the US Government responsible for its continuous campaigns against our country that encourage these behaviours and for calls for violence, with impunity, from its territory,” he said in a post on Twitter.
Over the past three weeks, Cuban embassies in several cities around the world have been the scene of demonstrations both against and in support of Cuba’s government in reaction to protests that erupted across the country on July 11 and 12.
The rallies were triggered by a deep economic crisis, the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and curbs on civil liberties, prompting the Communist-run country to restrict access to social media and messaging platforms.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of 20 other countries issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning mass arrests in Cuba and calling for full restoration of Internet access there.
Cuba has accused Washington of fomenting a social media campaign aimed at destabilising the Caribbean nation, which is going through a severe economic crisis exacerbated by COVID-19 and US sanctions.
The “statements of the US secretary of state are based on the support of a handful of countries that have been pressured to accept his decrees”, Rodriguez said in a separate tweet.
“#Cuba counts the support of 184 nations that all call to #EndTheEmbargo,” he added, referring to the US government’s longstanding sanctions, which have been in place since 1962.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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