U.S. Embassy in Cuba informs about the impact of the Government shutdown on its operations

The United States Embassy in Cuba announced that its official social media accounts will not be updated regularly while the partial shutdown of the U.S. government due to budget allocation issues remains in effect.

"Due to the interruption of budget allocations in the United States, our social media accounts will not be updated regularly until operations are fully resumed, except for urgent information related to security," the diplomatic mission stated in a message shared on the platform X (formerly Twitter).

Despite the reduction in its public activity, the embassy clarified that the scheduled passport and transit visa services, both in the United States and at its foreign representations, will continue to operate "as long as the situation permits."

"We will not update this account until operations are fully resumed, except in the case of urgent information related to security,” the diplomatic mission reiterated.

The interruption in operations is due to the temporary shutdown of the U.S. federal government, a situation that occurs when Congress fails to approve the budgets necessary to fund government agencies on time.

This Wednesday, the U.S. Senate rejected two budget proposals—one presented by the Democrats and another by the Republicans—in the first attempt to lift the shutdown since non-essential functions of the federal government were suspended at midnight on Tuesday.

The Democratic proposal was defeated by 53 votes to 47, while the Republican one received 55 votes in favor and 45 against, falling five votes short of the 60 needed for its approval.

Democratic senators John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada) broke ranks with their party and supported the Republican proposal, which is currently closer to receiving approval.

Liberals have conditioned their support on a renewal of subsidies for the healthcare program Obamacare and the reversal of health cuts included in the major tax law promoted by President Donald Trump.

However, the Republicans, who have accused the Democrats of wanting to benefit undocumented immigrants with those funds, insist on negotiating those points after the budget approval.

Meanwhile, the White House warned that layoffs of federal public employees are imminent. “Unfortunately, they are a consequence of the government shutdown,” said spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, blaming the Democrats for the situation.

The director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, stated that the staffing cuts could be implemented "in two days." In fact, that office has already sent guidelines to all agencies to identify non-essential programs and initiate layoffs if the shutdown continues.

During this period, essential services such as security forces, airports, the military, and social security will continue to operate, although employees will not receive salaries until a new budget is approved.