The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. It is located at 2630 16th Street Northwest, in the

Meridian Hill Meridian Hill is a small urban Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest D.C. Meridian Hill is often considered to be a part of the larger neighborhoods of Adams Morgan ...

neighborhood. The building was originally constructed in 1917 as the Cuban embassy, and served in that capacity until the United States severed relations with Cuba in 1961. On July 1, 2015, US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

announced the formal restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. The building resumed its role as the Cuban Embassy on July 20, 2015.

History

From 1977 to 2015, the former Cuban Embassy housed the Cuban Interests Section in the United States. The

interests section A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). It is common fo ...

was staffed by Cubans and operated independently, but it was formally a section of the

protecting power A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). It is common fo ...

's embassy. From 1977 to 1991, it operated as the Cuba Interests Section of the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

Embassy to the United States. In 1991, the post-Communist government of Czechoslovakia refused to continue its sponsorship of Cuba. From 1991 to 2015, the Cuban Interests Section operated under the Swiss Embassy, until diplomatic relations were re-established and the building resumed its role as the Cuban embassy. On May 19, 1979,

Omega 7 Omega 7 was an anti-Castro Cuban group based in Florida and New York made up of Cuban exiles whose stated goal was to overthrow Fidel Castro. The group had fewer than 20 members. According to the Global Terrorism Database, Omega 7 was responsible ...

detonated a bomb in the building, which did more damage to the Lithuanian legation next door. On April 30, 2020, a gunman opened fire at the building with an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

style rifle. No one was injured, and the gunman, a 42-year-old man from

Aubrey, Texas Aubrey is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,006 at the 2020 census. History Aubrey, the town, was officially founded in 1867, when Civil War veteran Lemuel Noah Edwards (1838–1910) built the second frame hous ...

, was arrested. Though the gunman's motivation was not officially known, a police report called it a "suspected hate crime". Two

Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammable l ...

were thrown at the embassy in September 2023, causing no injuries or significant damage.

List of representatives

''Note''

References

External links

Official website
{{Portal bar, Cuba, United States, Politics 1917 establishments in Washington, D.C. Adams Morgan Cuba–United States relations

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Meridian Hill

History

List of representatives

See also

References

External links