Mike Hammer, mission chief at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, met this Monday with the Bahamian ambassador in Havana, Dr. Elliston Rahming, to discuss the situation on the island and the shared interests of both countries in the Caribbean.
Hammer himself announced the meeting on the official X account of the U.S. diplomatic mission, accompanied by a photograph of both officials at what appears to be the embassy in Havana.
"It was a pleasure to meet with Ambassador Dr. Elliston Rahming of the Bahamas to discuss the situation in Cuba and the shared interests in the Caribbean," wrote the diplomat, who also noted that Rahming completed his university studies in the United States.
The meeting occurs at a time of particular diplomatic tension regarding Cuba. In June of this year, the Cuban regime delivered in the Bahamas a letter warning about a supposed military aggression from Washington against the island, a move that reflects the state of relations between Havana and its Caribbean neighbors.
The relations between the Bahamas and Cuba are undergoing a period of adjustment. Under pressure from Washington, Nassau announced in June 2025 the cancellation of contracts with Cuban medical brigades operating in that country, and subsequently explored ways to directly compensate the Cuban health professionals who remain there.
At the same time, Bahamas extended a humanitarian gesture towards Cuba: at the beginning of August, it sent pediatric oncology medications to the island in three shipments, amid a severe health crisis that has left only 30% of the basic medicine supply available, with more than 460 essential drugs out of stock.
Hammer has been active in Havana since November 2024 and has developed a direct diplomacy with the population, traveling through provinces and meeting with dissidents, independent journalists, and families of political prisoners. This activity has earned him a formal verbal warning from the Cuban regime in May 2025 and organized repudiation acts by government-affiliated groups.
In parallel, the head of the mission has maintained an intense regional agenda. In May, he participated in the Conference of Heads of Mission from the Western Hemisphere at the Southern Command in Florida, where he met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and General Frank Donovan, with Cuba as the central focus of the agenda.
Dr. Rahming was appointed ambassador of the Bahamas to Cuba in February 2022 by Prime Minister Philip Davis, marking his third diplomatic post in that position. The Bahamas and Cuba have maintained diplomatic relations since 1974.
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