The United States has expelled 14 Cuban diplomats, including seven based at the United Nations, for spying, State Department officials said.
The expulsions, which came as tensions between the Cold War foes have mounted after a Cuban crackdown on dissidents, were ordered after a lengthy espionage investigation, the officials said.
"Seven diplomats from the Cuban Interests Section [in Washington] have been declared persona non grata, and seven diplomats from the Cuban mission to the United Nations have been told to leave," a senior official said.
"This is a result of an ongoing investigation that has occurred over a number of years," a second official said, adding that "the activities of these people have been a source of concern to us for some time."
"They were engaging in activities deemed to be harmful to the United States outside their official capacities as diplomats," the official added.
A spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section said he had not been informed of the expulsions but the State Department officials said the United Nations and the Interests Section had notified of the measures earlier today.
There are 21 Cuban diplomats registered as working in Havana's interests section in Washington, according to the latest State Department "Diplomatic List." It was not immediately clear how many worked at the Cuban UN mission in New York.
Tensions between the Cold War foes have mounted in recent months, particularly after a harsh crackdown in which some 75 Cuban dissidents were sentenced to jail terms of up to 28 years.
AFP