The Cuban regime officially welcomed on Wednesday in Havana the ten officials from its embassy in the Dominican Republic who had to leave that country, presenting their expulsion as a sort of acknowledgment of a "duty fulfilled," while blaming the United States for Santo Domingo's decision.
The ceremony, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), was led by Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and Deputy Minister Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, who defended the officials without addressing the reports suggesting alleged Cuban surveillance activities during the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026.
"We welcome them with pride and the conviction that they fully fulfilled the responsibilities assumed during their mission in that country," said Vidal according to a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media.
The official stated that the Dominican Republic acted "without any justification" and directly attributed the decision to the U.S. government.
"It responds to pressures from the United States Government in the context of its current escalation against Cuba," he stated.
However, Santo Domingo has not publicly stated that Washington was behind the measure, nor has it officially revealed the reasons for demanding the departure of the Cuban officials.
"A medal on the chest"
The tone of the event became even more defiant when Odín Ysla Hernández, the Cuban vice-consul in the Dominican Republic and one of the officials required to return to the island, took the floor.
Ysla described the decision as an "imperial maneuver" aimed at "minimizing the nation's prestige" and assured that he and his colleagues were returning "with their duty fulfilled."
He even described the expulsion as "a medal on the chest."
The official speech avoided any reference to the suspicions that arose in the Dominican Republic regarding the activities of Cuban agents during the Games, precisely at the time when several members of the island's sports delegation decided to remain in that country.
The expulsion coincided with the desertions of Cuban athletes
The Dominican government informed the Cuban mission on August 13 that nine of its officials were required to leave the country within seven days. Havana maintains that ten individuals were affected.
The Dominican Republic invoked Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which allows a member of a foreign mission to be declared persona non grata without the need to publicly explain the reasons.
The measure also affected the families of the officials, resulting in around 21 people having to leave the country.
The Cuban ambassador Ángel Custodio Arzuaga Reyes was not among those expelled, and the diplomatic mission continued to operate, meaning the incident did not result in a break in relations between the two governments.
But the decision came amid a particularly uncomfortable situation for Havana.
A Diario Libre investigation revealed that Dominican authorities may have detected infiltrated Cuban agents in facilities related to the Central American and Caribbean Games, some reportedly dressed in uniforms from other delegations.
According to that report, the objective would have been to monitor the members of the Cuban delegation and locate those who decided to leave it.
The Dominican government has not officially confirmed that these alleged operations were the reason for the expulsion of the diplomats.
Five athletes decided to stay in the Dominican Republic
At least five Cuban athletes left the delegation during the Games and remained in Dominican territory.
Two of them have already begun procedures with the National Refugee Office (CONARE), while the others are preparing to try to regularize their immigration status.
The president of the Cuban Association in the Dominican Republic, José Alberto Fernández, recently stated that the level of surveillance over the delegation was significant and asserted that, without those controls, the number of athletes and coaches who might have chosen to escape could have been much higher.
The controversy also reached Washington. The Cuban-American congressman Carlos Giménez celebrated the decision of the Dominican Republic and thanked Santo Domingo for remaining "on the right side of history."
Havana, on the other hand, chose this Wednesday to turn the return of officials into a ceremony of political vindication: they welcomed them with "pride," described their expulsion as a "medal," and blamed the United States, but did not address suspicions regarding the activities of Cuban agents during the Games that coincided with the departure of five athletes from the official delegation.
Related videos:
Filed under: