The U.S. is expelling 15 officials from the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday, signaling a growing response by the department to attacks that have left U.S. government employees in Cuba suffering symptoms like hearing damage.
Tillerson said the “decision was made due to Cuba’s failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats” and to “ensure equity in our respective diplomatic operations.”
The State Department informed the Cuban government of its decision Tuesday morning and provided a list of the specific people who would be expelled, a department official told NBC News. Those people were given seven days to leave the United States.
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The official said the expulsion, which amounts to about 60 percent of the employees at the embassy, does not signal a change in policy or determination of responsibility for the attacks, and added that the U.S. was maintaining diplomatic relations with Havana.
The expulsion, however, will leave the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C. — which has fewer than 25 workers — with just a handful of employees and is certain to affect the mission’s ability to function.
The move comes just days after the department ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel assigned to the U.S. embassy in Havana, as well as their family members.
Tillerson said Tuesday that the withdrawal in Havana was meant “to minimize the number of diplomats at risk of exposure to harm” until “the government of Cuba can ensure the safety of our diplomats in Cuba.”
The statement was in reference to the baffling sonic attacks that affected staffers at the U.S. embassy in Cuba. The State Department said Wednesday that the number of victims was now 22. Those employee have suffered headaches, hearing loss, memory issues and other symptoms.
A State Department official told NBC News Tuesday that the investigation was still ongoing. The Cuban government has repeatedly denied having played a role in the attacks.