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 den ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

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

Adams Morgan Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the White House. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include th ...

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 served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

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 in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...

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 in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...

's embassy. From 1977 to 1991, it operated as the Cuba Interests Section of the Czechoslovak 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 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 a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

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. The population was 5,006 at the 2020 census. History Aubrey, the town, was officially founded 1867, when Civil War veteran Lemuel Noah Edwards (1838–1910) built the second frame house th ...

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

Designations since 1953

''Note''

Plenipotentiary representatives

Chiefs of Cuban Interests Section: 1977–2015

* 1977–89:

Ramón Sánchez-Parodi Montoto Ramón Sánchez-Parodi Montoto (born 25 September 1938 in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban diplomat and writer. Sánchez-Parodi served as the first chief of the Cuban Interests Section The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C ...

* 1989–92:

José Antonio Arbesú José Antonio Arbesú Fraga (21 June 1940 – September 26, 2020) was a Cuban diplomat. Arbesu was born in Havana, and served as the chief of the Cuban Interests Section The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of Cuba ...

* 1992–98:

Alfonso Fraga Alfonso Fraga Pérez (born 1941 in Havana) is a Cuban attorney and diplomat. He has been the Secretary General of the Organization of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa and Latin America since 2006. He was the Cuban ambassador to Chil ...

* 1998–2001: Fernando Remírez de Estenoz Barciela * 2001–07:

Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera (born 1955 in Cuba) is a Cuban diplomat. From August 2001 to 2007, he was the Chief of the Cuban Interests Section The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of Cuba to the United States of ...

* 2007–12:

Jorge Bolaños Jorge Alberto Bolaños Suarez (born 7 November 1936 in Las Tunas, Cuba) is a Cuban politician and diplomat. Bolanos graduated in Political Sciences and International Law from the University of Havana and did postgraduate courses in Foreign Rel ...

* 2012–15:

José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez is a Cuban diplomat. He became the first Ambassador of Cuba to the United States in 50 years in September 2015. References Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living ...

Ambassadors: 2015–present

* 2015–2020:

* 2020–present: Lianys Torres Rivera

References

External links

Official website
Adams Morgan Cuba–United States relations

Washington, D.C. 1917 establishments in Washington, D.C. {{WashingtonDC-struct-stub