The Havana regime has appointed Yurielkys Sarduy Martínez as its new ambassador to France, replacing Otto Vaillant Frías, who has completed his mission in that position.
The decision was formalized through the , adopted on September 7, 2026, and published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba No. 79 Ordinary of 2026, on pages two and three.
The text of the agreement states in its first point: "To appoint Yurielkys Sarduy Martínez to the position of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in the French Republic, in place of Otto Vaillant Frías, who has completed his mission."
A second point stipulates that Sarduy Martínez formally accredits himself before the French authorities in that same diplomatic rank.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, is tasked with executing the provisions of the agreement, as stated in the third point of the document, signed in Havana by Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People's Power.
The new ambassador arrives with experience: in 2019, she was identified as the first secretary of the Cuban embassy in Paris, and in 2024, according to the official agency Prensa Latina, she held the position of deputy chief of the Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, being part of the Cuban delegation at a meeting on feminist foreign policies held in Mexico.
Otto Vaillant Frías, the outgoing diplomat, was accredited in France since July 22, 2022, and also represented Cuba in Monaco, where he presented his credentials to Prince Albert II in May 2023.
His career includes positions such as vice-consul in Chile, consul general in Paris, ambassador in Egypt, Palestine, and Sudan between 2010 and 2014, and director general of the Translation and Interpretation Service of MINREX from 2019 to 2021.
In February of this year, Vaillant Frías stated to France 24 that "the Cuban people are the ones who must decide their government," a statement that drew attention due to its unusual tone for a regime official.
The concentrated on four agreements from the State Council, all pertaining to diplomatic appointments: in addition to the appointment in France, Agreement 647-X on the accreditation of an ambassador in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon was published, the , and the , indicating a simultaneous round of diplomatic renewal.
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