The Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of Cuba to the United States of America. It is located at 2630

16th Street Northwest 16th Street Northwest is a prominent north–south thoroughfare in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. Part of Pierre L'Enfant's design for the city, 16th Street begins just north of the White House across Lafayette Park at H Street and c ...

, 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 the ...

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 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'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 This is a list of diplomatic missions of Switzerland, excluding honorary consulates. Switzerland is well known as a protecting power, having used its embassies abroad to represent the interests of states hostile to each other since the Franco ...

, 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 style rifle. No one was injured, and the gunman, a 42-year-old man from Aubrey, Texas, 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 * 1989–92: José Antonio Arbesú * 1992–98: Alfonso Fraga * 1998–2001: Fernando Remírez de Estenoz Barciela * 2001–07: Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera * 2007–12: Jorge Bolaños * 2012–15: José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez

Ambassadors: 2015–present

* 2015–2020: José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez * 2020–present: Lianys Torres Rivera

References

External links

Official website
Adams Morgan Cuba–United States relations Cuba Washington, D.C. 1917 establishments in Washington, D.C. {{WashingtonDC-struct-stub