The Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Cuba, Mike Hammer, visited the town of Hershey, in the province of Mayabeque, as part of his tour of the country. In a video posted by the U.S. Embassy on Facebook, the diplomat emphasized the historical significance of the site and the relationship that binds both nations.
"I continue to travel around Cuba and went to visit Hershey in Mayabeque, which has a historical connection with the U.S. This year we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States and will highlight the close ties between our peoples as part of our #Freedom250 campaign," Hammer stated in the post.
During the visit, the diplomat spoke with some locals, who shared with him the history of the place and the figure of Milton Hershey, the American businessman who founded the factory and the town in the early decades of the 20th century.
The site, a symbol of an era of prosperity and modernity in Cuba, still retains traces of the old sugar mill, the electric railway, and the workers’ houses built under the industrial model of that time. A report by CiberCuba described years ago how that “sleeping and forgotten town” was once a model village, with a public school, clinic, cinema, social club, and power plant, before falling into neglect after the expropriation of the sugar mill and the collapse of the local economy.
The tour of Hammer in Hershey comes just days after State Security warned that it would not allow new meetings between the diplomat and members of Cuban civil society, as reported by the Centro de Estudios Convivencia (CEC). The authorities informed its director, Dagoberto Valdés Hernández, that "they would not allow the American ambassador to contact people to use them for his purposes in the current situation that Cuba is experiencing."
The agents described the recent meeting between Valdés and Hammer as "collaboration with a foreign power that threatens to invade the island," despite the fact that, according to the CEC, the meeting had a humanitarian nature and focused on the distribution of aid donated by the United States through the Catholic Church.
The warning sparked a wave of reactions on social media both inside and outside of Cuba. Users described the regime's stance as a sign of fear and highlighted the diplomat's role as a close and respected figure. "If they touch Hammer, they touch the Cuban people," summarized one of the most shared comments.
The journey of the U.S. representative to Hershey is part of the campaign #Freedom250, with which the U.S. Embassy in Havana commemorates the 250th anniversary of that country's independence and promotes the historical, cultural, and human ties between both nations.
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