The government of the Dominican Republic on Thursday expelled nine officials from the Cuban embassy in Santo Domingo.
The decision drew the ire of Cuba’s communist regime, which described the expulsion as a purported plot of “subordination” against Cuba by the Dominican Republic and the United States.
The Dominican Foreign Ministry detailed in an official Thursday statement that it gave nine unidentified members of the Cuban embassy and their respective families a seven-day deadline to leave the Dominican Republic. Although the Dominican government did not specify a reason to expel the communist diplomats, the Foreign Ministry said that the action was taken on the terms stablished by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“The Dominican government is acting in accordance with established regulations and will continue to handle this matter with due discretion and through established diplomatic channels in the interest of preserving relations between the two countries,” the text read in part.
“As this involves diplomatic communications, we wish to inform you that no further details regarding this matter will be provided,” the statement concluded.
The Castro regime condemned the Dominican Republic’s decision in a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, branding the move as a purported “act of subordination” to the United States’ “aggressive policy” on Cuba. Although the Dominican Republic stated that nine diplomats were ordered to leave the country, the Cuban Ministry cited the total as ten.
The Castro regime claimed there is “no reason whatsoever” that could justify the expelling of its diplomats from Dominican territory because its diplomats “have always acted in strict adherence to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and with absolute respect for the laws of that sister nation.”
“There is no other explanation for this action than the Dominican government’s submission to pressure from the U.S. government, which, in its drive to isolate Cuba, has set out to damage our diplomatic relations with countries in the region,” the Ministry wrote.
Per the Castro regime, Thursday’s events are not the first time that the Dominican Republic “aligns with the hostile policies” of the United States against Cuba. The Cuban communists cited the Dominican Republic’s decision to bar Cuba from participating in the 10th Summit of the Americas and for the “change in vote” of the Dominican Republic against the U.S. “embargo” at the United Nations as examples of said assertions.
The rogue communist regime affirmed that the expelling of its diplomats will “sensibly injure” the ties between both governments, but it cannot “sever” the bonds between the countries.
Dominican President Luis Abinader has tightened his critical stance against the Cuban regime in the last few months. Speaking with Infobae on May, President Abinader fiercely condemned the Cuban communist regime and emphasized that Cuba is “obviously not a democratic state.” The Dominican President stated at the time that he believes the Castro regime is realizing that they need to make a change “and are moving in that direction.”
Months later, in July, the Dominican Republic was among the 30 countries that abstained from voting in a U.N. vote demanding an urgent debate on the subject of the “embargo.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.