"Rum" & "Coke" In Cuba Could Have A New Meaning... Coca-Cola and Pepsi?

Tropicola (the Republic of Cuba's version of Coca-Cola) and rum brands, Ron Caney and Ron Varadero, are listed in the United States Department of State List of Entities and Subentities Associated with Cuba [LINK].  

The summary references that "direct financial transactions will be generally prohibited" with such entities and subentities as they are affiliated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of the Republic of Cuba and "intelligence, or security services or personnel."

If an individual subject to United States jurisdiction purchases Tropicola, Ron Caney or Ron Varadero from an individual, privately-owned kiosk, cafe, or restaurant (paladar), would that transaction be permitted because it is not "direct" or would it be prohibited because its "fruit of the poisonous tree." 

Is the focus meant to be solely upon "commercial engagement" by United States companies relating to the export/import of the products?

Does this mean an individual subject to United States jurisdiction may not purchase and consume Tropicola, Ron Caney and Ron Varadero regardless of the location of the individual?  The honor system on steriods..... 

Will the regulations serve as a means to promote other Republic of Cuba government-owned beverage brands?  Or....

Could this be a (not-so) subtle means by the Trump Administration to promote exports to the Republic of Cuba by Atlanta, Georgia-based The Coca-Cola Company (2016 revenues exceeded US$41.8 billion) and Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo, Inc. (2016 revenues exceeded US$62.8 billion)?

Awaiting a response from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury and from the United States Department of State.....   

Treasury, Commerce, and State Implement Changes to the Cuba Sanctions Rules

LINK TO MEDIA RELEASE
LINK TO OFAC REGULATIONS & LINK TO OFAC FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
LINK TO BIS REGULATIONS
LINK TO US DEPARTMENT OF STATE LIST

Treasury, Commerce, and State Implement Changes to the Cuba Sanctions Rules
11/8/2017

Amendments Implement President Trump's June 2017 National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are announcing amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), respectively, to implement changes to the Cuba sanctions program announced by the President in June.  The State Department is taking complementary steps to implement these policy changes that cumulatively seek to channel economic activities away from the Cuban military, intelligence, and security services, while maintaining opportunities for Americans to engage in authorized travel to Cuba and support the private, small business sector in Cuba.  The changes will take effect on Thursday, November 9, 2017, when the regulations are published in the Federal Register.

"We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military and to encourage the government to move toward greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

For the Treasury regulations, which can be found at 31 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 515, see here.  For the Commerce regulations, which can be found at 15 CFR parts 730-774, see here.  For the State Department list, which can be found on the State Department website and in the Federal Register, see here.  Major elements of the changes in the revised regulations include:

Financial Transactions

In accordance with the NSPM, the State Department is publishing a list of entities and subentities that are under the control of, or act for or on behalf of, the Cuban military, intelligence, or security services or personnel and with which direct financial transactions would disproportionately benefit the Cuban military, intelligence, or security services or personnel at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba – the State Department's List of Restricted Entities and Subentities Associated with Cuba ("Cuba Restricted List").  The Cuba Restricted List is maintained by the State Department and will be published and periodically updated as necessary in the Federal Register.

Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction will now be prohibited from engaging in certain direct financial transactions with entities and subentities identified by the State Department on the Cuba Restricted List.  Certain transactions will be excluded from this prohibition pursuant to exceptions detailed in the NSPM.

Consistent with the Administration’s interest in avoiding negative impacts on American businesses and travelers, commercial engagements in place prior to the State Department’s listing of any entity or subentity will continue to be authorized, as will most previously arranged travel.

Trade and Commerce

In accordance with the NSPM, BIS is establishing a general policy of denial for license applications to export items for use by entities and subentities on the Cuba Restricted List unless the transaction is otherwise consistent with the NSPM.

Consistent with the Administration's policy to support free enterprise in Cuba, BIS is simplifying and expanding its license exception that authorizes certain license-free exports to the Cuban private sector.

People-to-People Travel
                                                                             
In accordance with the NSPM, OFAC is requiring that (1) all people-to-people nonacademic educational travel be conducted under the auspices of an organization that is subject to U.S. jurisdiction and that sponsors such exchanges to promote people-to-people contact, and (2) such travelers be accompanied by a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction who is a representative of the sponsoring organization.  Individual people-to-people nonacademic educational travel will no longer be authorized as announced by the President.

Consistent with the Administration's interest in avoiding negative impacts on Americans for arranging lawful travel to Cuba, certain people-to-people travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler had already completed at least one travel-related transaction (such as purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation) prior to the President's June 16, 2017 announcement.

Educational Travel

In accordance with the NSPM, Americans engaging in certain authorized educational travel will now be required to do so under the auspices of an organization that is a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

These authorized educational travelers will now also be required to be accompanied by a person subject to U.S. jurisdiction who is a representative of the sponsoring organization, unless the traveler is the representative and obtains a certification letter from the sponsoring organization.

Consistent with the Administration's interest in avoiding negative impacts on Americans for arranging lawful travel to Cuba, certain educational travel that previously was authorized will continue to be authorized where the traveler has completed at least one travel-related transaction prior to the publication of the regulations on November 9.

Support for the Cuban People Travel

In accordance with the NSPM, OFAC is requiring that each traveler under this travel category engage in a full-time schedule of activities that result in meaningful interaction with individuals in Cuba.  Such activities must also enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba, or promote the Cuban people's independence from Cuban authorities.  Renting a room in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) are examples of authorized activities; however, in order to meet the requirement of a full-time schedule, a traveler must engage in additional authorized Support for the Cuban People activities.   

Prohibited Officials

In accordance with the NSPM, OFAC is amending the definition of the term prohibited officials of the Government of Cuba to include certain additional individuals.  BIS is making conforming changes to three license exceptions that include the same definition.  This definitional change will affect certain otherwise-authorized transactions with the expanded group of such officials.

IACC Reports On Visits Of Representatives Of TSA & FAA

Mr. Armando Lopez, president of the Republic of Cuba government-operated Institute of Civil Aeronautics of Cuba (IACC) which is "in charge of the management, execution and control of the State and Government Policy in reference to air transport, civil air navigation and their ancillary and related services," reports that representatives of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) under the auspice of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have visited the Republic of Cuba on forty (40) occasions since 2003; and on seven (7) occasions since the resumption of regularly-scheduled commercial airline services in 2016.  The IACC also reports that representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have also visited the Republic of Cuba since 2000.

US Cruise Lines Continue To Add Capacity To Cuba, Revenue From Cuba, And Revenue To Cuba

As Of 25 October 2017, The Three Largest U.S. Cruise Lines Could For 2017/2018/2019:

Deliver 455,000 Passengers To Cuba

286 Sailings To Cuba

US$623 Million In Gross Revenues To The Companies

US$64 Million Spent In Cuba By Passengers

US$19 Million In Port Fees To Cuba

And, transporting, housing, and feeding those potential passengers could mean an additional US$125+ Million to United States airlines and US$55+ million to hotels and restaurants located in South Florida.  Gross United States airline revenues for 2017/2018/2019, excluding the cruise-related revenues, are projected to be US$172+ million for United States-Republic of Cuba routes.

The three (3) largest United States-based cruise lines (through their multiple brands) have announced more than 286 itineraries amongst their brands for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 sailing seasons which include the Republic of Cuba.  Additional itineraries are expected to be announced.  And, smaller cruise lines are also operating in the Republic of Cuba marketplace.   

Miami, Florida-based Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd

Miami, Florida-based Carnival Corporation & plc

Miami, Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd

In 2016, the three cruise lines combined operated a fleet of approximately 144 vessels, managed approximately 14 brands, earned approximately US$28.8 billion in gross revenues, and employed approximately 218,000 men and women.

If each vessel sails at capacity, a total of more than 455,000 passengers will visit the Republic of Cuba from 2017 through 2019.

The gross revenues to the cruise lines from the 286 Republic of Cuba sailings would be projected to exceed US$623 million from 2017 through 2019.

The 455,000 passengers would be projected to spend approximately US$64 million while in the Republic of Cuba [approximately US$140.00 per person in expenditures and organized/non-organized excursions including cost(s) for tour(s), meals (government-operated and privately-operated), ground transportation (privately-operated classic car tours), sundries and souvenirs (including spirits, coffee, tobacco, artwork and crafts)].  Some passengers could spend considerably more (cigars for example) given the United States duty-free personal exemption of US$800 per person.  

Vessel port charges in the Republic of Cuba may exceed US$19 million, ranging up to approximately US$79,000.00 for the largest vessels (684-passenger to 2,744-passenger).

COMPLETE REPORT IN PDF FORMAT

U.S. Companies & Cuba Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) Update

There is horizontal Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) in the Republic of Cuba by United States-based companies as represented by:

Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International (hotel management)
Moline, Illinois-based John Deere (distribution center)
Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar (distribution center)
Chicago, Illinois-based United Airlines (operations/ticket office)
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines (operations/ticket office)
Long Island City, New York-based Jet Blue Airways (operations/ticket office)
Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Air Lines (operations/ticket office)

Since 17 December 2014, two (2) horizontal DFI proposals in the public domain were rejected by the government of the Republic of Cuba: Alabama-based Cleber LLC (a facility in the Republic of Cuba that would use parts manufactured in the United States and delivered to the Republic of Cuba to assemble tractors for the domestic market and for export) and Florida-based Florida Produce of Hillsborough County (distribution center in the Republic of Cuba featuring food and other products imported from the United States).   

Definition Of DFI (from Investopedia)

Foreign direct investments can be made in a variety of ways, including the opening of a subsidiary or associate company in a foreign country, acquiring a controlling interest in an existing foreign company, or by means of a merger or joint venture with a foreign company.

The threshold for a foreign direct investment that establishes a controlling interest, per guidelines established by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is a minimum 10% ownership stake in a foreign-based company, typically represented for the investor acquiring 10% or more of the ordinary shares or voting shares of a foreign company. However, that definition is flexible, as there are instances where effective controlling interest in a firm can be established with less than 10% of the company's voting shares.

Foreign direct investments are commonly categorized as being horizontal, vertical or conglomerate in nature. A horizontal direct investment refers to the investor establishing the same type of business operation in a foreign country as it operates in its home country, for example, a cell phone provider based in the United States opening up stores in China. A vertical investment is one in which different but related business activities from the investor's main business are established or acquired in a foreign country, such as when a manufacturing company acquires an interest in a foreign company that supplies parts or raw materials required for the manufacturing company to make its products. A conglomerate type of foreign direct investment is one where a company or individual makes a foreign investment in a business that is unrelated to its existing business in its home country. Since this type of investment involves entering an industry the investor has no previous experience in, it often takes the form of a joint venture with a foreign company already operating in the industry.

US$1 Trillion Is Combined Global Revenues Of The 52 U.S. Companies With A Presence In Cuba

U.S. Companies With A Presence In Cuba Since 17 December 2014
No Manufacturing/Assembly; Limited DFI
Licenses Issued By OFAC/BIS Not Yet Disclosed & Implemented

With the Republic of Cuba, United States-based companies engage in the export of products, import of products, provision of services and horizontal Direct Foreign Investment (DFI).  

The global gross revenues of the fifty-two (52) listed companies exceeds US$1 trillion and the companies employ approximately 2 million within the United States and other countries; not including revenue/employees from the United States Postal Service (USPS).  

The list does not include travel agents and tour operators, most of whom have arrangements with Republic of Cuba government-operated Havanatur Celimar, Asistur, Gaviota and other Republic of Cuba government-operated companies to market itineraries.  

This list does not include United States-based companies that have exported food products and agricultural commodities (Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000; TSREEA) and medical equipment, medical instruments, medical supplies, medicines, and pharmaceutical products (Cuban Democracy Act of 1992; CDA).  

There is horizontal DFI in the Republic of Cuba by United States-based companies as represented by Marriott International, John Deere, Caterpillar, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Jet Blue Airways, and American Airlines.  

Since 17 December 2014, two (2) horizontal DFI proposals in the public domain were rejected by the government of the Republic of Cuba: Alabama-based Cleber LLC (a facility in the Republic of Cuba that would use parts manufactured in the United States and delivered to the Republic of Cuba to assemble tractors for the domestic market and for export) and Florida-based Florida Produce of Hillsborough County (distribution center in the Republic of Cuba featuring food and other products imported from the United States).   

There are a reported twenty (20) to more than seventy (70) licenses issued in 2016 (before and after the 8 November 2016 presidential election to 20 January 2017; and issued subsequent to 20 January 2017) by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury and/or Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce, that have not been disclosed by the licensee, have not been implemented by the licensee, have been implemented by the licensee but not disclosed, and/or in some instances confirmed by the government of the Republic of Cuba but not by the licensee.  OFAC licenses are generally valid for up to two years.

1.    Alabama- Gulfwise LLC (2016 contract export of one piece of equipment; not delivered)
2.    California- Airbnb (residential reservations)
3.    California- Cisco Systems (donated no-cost networking academy)
4.    California- Google (donated products for interactive display; donated servers)
5.    California- Viking River Cruises (cruises)
6.    Colorado- Frontier Airlines (flights; ended service 2017)
7.    Colorado- Western Union (funds transfers- commenced before 2014)
8.    Connecticut- Booking.com [owned by Priceline] (accommodation reservations)
9.    Connecticut- Pearl Seas Cruises (cruise ships)
10.    Connecticut- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (hotel management)
11.    District of Columbia- United States Postal Service (delivery services)
12.    Florida- Crowley Liner Services (container shipping)
13.    Florida- Eastern Airlines (flights)
14.    Florida- Fogo Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal (import of charcoal)
15.    Florida- Natbank (Mastercard)
16.    Florida- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (cruise ships)
17.    Florida- Premier Automotive Export (export of electric vehicles/chargers)
18.    Florida- Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (cruise ships)
19.    Florida- Silver Airlines (flights; ended service 2017)
20.    Florida- Spirit Airlines (flights; ended service 2017)
21.    Florida- Stonegate Bank (Mastercard & ½ correspondent banking agreement)
22.    Florida-Carnival Corporation & PLC (cruise ships)
23.    Georgia- Delta Airlines (flights & ticket office)
24.    Illinois- Caterpillar (authorized distributorship; donated product)
25.    Illinois- John Deere (distribution center; donated product)
26.    Illinois- United Airlines (flights & ticket office pending)
27.    Kansas- Sprint (roaming agreement)
28.    Massachusetts- General Electric (parts & equipment for a power plant)
29.    Massachusetts- TripAdvisor (hotel reservations)
30.    Minnesota- Sun Country Airlines (flights)
31.    Netflix- (video streaming)
32.    New Jersey- Advanced Solar Products (export of electric vehicle chargers)
33.    New Jersey- IDT Corporation (direct long distance)
34.    New Jersey- Wyndham Worldwide (hotel management)- Agreement Cancelled
35.    New York- Colgate-Palmolive (oral education program- early 2014)
36.    New York- Infor (software technology)- Announced/No Further Action
37.    New York- JetBlue Airlines (flights & ticket office)
38.    New York- Mastercard International (credit/debit branded cards)
39.    New York- Nestle Nespresso USA (coffee imports)
40.    New York- Roswell Park Cancer Institute (vaccine clinical trial)
41.    New York- Starr Companies (letter of intent- insurance)
42.    New York- Verizon (roaming agreement)
43.    Puerto Rico- Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (Mastercard)
44.    Rimco (Caterpillar distributor)
45.    Tennessee- FedEx (cargo)
46.    Texas- American Airlines (flights & ticket office)
47.    Texas- AT&T (roaming agreement)
48.    Texas- Southwest Airlines (flights)
49.    Virginia- Cuba International Network (production agreement & office presence)
50.    Washington- Alaska Airlines (flights)
51.    Washington- Expedia, Inc. (accommodation reservations)
52.    Washington- T-Mobile (roaming agreement)

LINK To Complete Document In PDF Format

John Deere Could Provide US$30 Million In Financing For U.S. Exports To Cuba

LINK: U.S. Companies With A Presence In Cuba

LINK: U.S. Companies Exporting To Cuba

Text Of 2003 Letter From John Deere To AEM Supporting Equipment Exports To Cuba

Moline, Illinois-based John Deere (2017 revenues approximately US$27 billion) has reported the company will establish a distribution center in the Republic of Cuba, joining San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Rimco, the Republic of Cuba distributor for Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc. (2017 revenues approximately US$38 billion) whose distribution center will be located within the Special Development Zone of Mariel (ZEDM).  The announcements were made during the 35th Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2017).

Neither John Deere nor Caterpillar have issued media releases or posted information on their respective Internet sites.

John Deere Financial Services will be providing payment terms/financing for the exports, primarily Series 5000 (price range US$25,000.00 to US$80,000.00) with a limited quantity of Series 7000 (price range US$219,000.00 to US$280,000.00).

According to the company, several hundred tractors, parts and accessories may be exported from the United States to the Republic of Cuba during the next four years, with the first deliveries (for testing and evaluation) scheduled for mid-November 2017.

The potential value of the several hundred products exported from the United States to the Republic of Cuba that would be financed could range from US$9 million to US$30 million.

Without the provision of substantial discounts in conjunction with extended payment terms and low-interest financing, United States companies remain at a competitive disadvantage as the government of the Republic of Cuba and Republic of Cuba government-operated companies prefer government-to-government transactions and government-to-government financing agreements.

For example, the governments of the People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, Japan, Belarus, France and India provide substantial long-term financing for durable product exports to the Republic of Cuba; and those financing agreements are generally extended when repayment is problematic, which is often.

Due to inaction by the Obama Administration throughout its two terms in office, despite repeated requests from representatives of the United States business community, payments from the Republic of Cuba to John Deere and Caterpillar will be routed through financial institutions located in third countries.

The Triangular Payment Problem

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury does not authorize Republic of Cuba government-operated financial institutions to have correspondent accounts with United States-based financial institutions.  However, the OFAC does authorize United States financial institutions to have correspondent accounts with Republic of Cuba government-operated financial institutions.

Without a change to this OFAC regulation, the payment process for funds from the United States to the Republic of Cuba and from the Republic of Cuba to the United States remains triangular rather than a straight line- which would be more efficient, more timely (same day versus two or more days), and less costly.  

In 2015, the OFAC authorized Pompano Beach, Florida-based Stonegate Bank (2017 assets approximately US$2.5 billion) to have an account with Republic of Cuba government-operated Banco Internacional de Comercio SA (BICSA).  There is also Republic of Cuba government-operated Banco Financiero Internacional SA (BFI) which handles international payments.  Unfortunately, because BICSA (and BFI) are not permitted to have an account with Stonegate Bank, funds are sent and received through Panama City, Panama-based Multibank, which has extensive dealings with the Republic of Cuba.

Additional effort.  Additional time.  Additional expense.  And, additional reasons for the government of the Republic of Cuba to avoid United States-based companies.

Why should Stonegate Bank, which on 13 October 2016 reported having sixty (60) United States-based companies that are or would like to engage in commercial transactions with Republic of Cuba-based entities, need to share its business (and lessen benefits to its shareholders) with a financial institution located in Panama?

ZEDM

Since 2013, an increasing number of vessels from the United States and other countries have been calling at the port of Mariel, located approximately forty (road) miles from Havana.  The port of Mariel is managed by Singapore-based PSA International.

The container terminal at the port of Mariel sits within the 180-square-mile ZEDM.  The facility 2,300 feet of jetty and four quay cranes which can accommodate 13,000 TEU Neo-Panamax vessels.  

Salvador, Brazil-based Odebrecht (2016 revenues approximately US$30 billion) was the primary contractor for the port of Mariel and ZEDM.  Approximately US$683 million in primary financing was provided by the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) of Brazil.  Institutions in China and Venezuela also provided financing.  

Two new rail-mounted gantry cranes from Shanghai, China, arrived in September 2016.  Currently, the port of Mariel has an average of one train per day.

Caterpillar's Distributor To Establish Distribution Center In Cuba For Sales, Service & Rentals

LINK TO PDF OF US COMPANIES WITH PRESENCE IN CUBA

NOTE: There are no United States Government statutory, regulatory or policy prohibitions upon Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc. (2017 revenues exceeded US$38 billion) from providing, directly or indirectly, payment terms and/or financing for equipment exports from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.

Without the provision of substantial discounts in conjunction with extended payment terms and low-interest financing, United States companies remain at a competitive disadvantage as the government of the Republic of Cuba and Republic of Cuba government-operated companies prefer government-to-government transactions and government-to-government financing agreements.

For example, the governments of the People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, France, Belarus, Japan and India provide substantial long-term financing for durable product exports to the Republic of Cuba; and those financing agreements are generally extended when repayment is problematic, which is often.

The Special Development Zone of Mariel (ZEDM) is affiliated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of the Republic of Cuba. 

The Trump Administration has posited that it will use regulations and policies administered by the United States Department of State, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury, and Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce to discourage United States companies from engagement with FAR-related entities, although some engagement may be grandfathered once regulations are issued, which was expected to be in September 2017 subsequent to a speech by The Honorable Donald Trump, President of the United States, in June 2017.

Neither John Deere nor Caterpillar have issued media releases or posted information on their respective Internet sites.

Neither Rimco nor Caterpillar have provided information as to financing/payment terms for any products exported from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.

Rimco has reported that the company will rent, sell and service Caterpillar equipment, including power generation systems.

The Triangular Payment Problem

Due to inaction by the Obama Administration throughout its two terms in office, despite repeated requests from representatives of the United States business community, payments from the Republic of Cuba to John Deere and Caterpillar will be routed through financial institutions located in third countries.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury does not authorize Republic of Cuba government-operated financial institutions to have correspondent accounts with United States-based financial institutions.  However, the OFAC does authorize United States financial institutions to have correspondent accounts with Republic of Cuba government-operated financial institutions.

Without a change to this OFAC regulation, the payment process for funds from the United States to the Republic of Cuba and from the Republic of Cuba to the United States remains triangular rather than a straight line- which would be more efficient, more timely (same day versus two or more days), and less costly.  

In 2015, the OFAC authorized Pompano Beach, Florida-based Stonegate Bank (2017 assets approximately US$2.5 billion) to have an account with Republic of Cuba government-operated Banco Internacional de Comercio SA (BICSA).  There is also Republic of Cuba government-operated Banco Financiero Internacional SA (BFI) which handles international payments.  Unfortunately, because BICSA (and BFI) are not permitted to have an account with Stonegate Bank, funds are sent and received through Panama City, Panama-based Multibank, which has extensive dealings with the Republic of Cuba.

Additional effort.  Additional time.  Additional expense.  And, additional reasons for the government of the Republic of Cuba to avoid United States-based companies.

Why should Stonegate Bank, which on 13 October 2016 reported having sixty (60) United States-based companies that are or would like to engage in commercial transactions with Republic of Cuba-based entities, need to share its business (and lessen benefits to its shareholders) with a financial institution located in Panama?

1 November 2017: HAVANA (Reuters)- Rimco, Caterpillar Inc’s dealer for Cuba, said on Wednesday it would open a distribution center for the U.S. heavy equipment maker at Havana’s Mariel special development zone, making it the first U.S. company to open up shop there.

The deal, signed this week, came as worsening U.S.-Cuban political relations curb U.S. business interest in the Communist-run island of 11 million inhabitants in the wake of the historic 2014 detente.

The United States voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution that was passed on Wednesday calling for the lifting of the decades-old U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, reversing an abstention by Washington last year.

“We are going to set up a warehouse and distribution center at Mariel and we will be distributing Caterpillar equipment,” Caroline McConnie, Vice President of the privately-held Puerto Rican company Rimco, said in a news conference at Cuba’s annual trade fair. “We have a license from the commerce department and other agencies.”

A license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which handles economic and trade sanctions, was not necessary, she said.

Mariel Director Ana Teresa Igarza said at the news conference that Rimco hoped to open up shop in 2018, and the deal was one of 30 projects, including 11 Mariel had signed off on this year.

Cuba created the zone, just west of Havana, three years ago to attract foreign capital with tax and customs breaks to boost its anemic economy. It hopes the port there could become a hub for the Caribbean and Central and South America.

It is controlled by Almacenes Universales, a company belonging to the Armed Forces Business Enterprises Group (GAESA), which could prove problematic for U.S. companies.

U.S. President Donald Trump in June ordered a ban on business dealings with the military as part of a tightening of trade and travel restrictions.

The new regulations, including that ban, have yet to be unveiled. The Trump administration has said that any deals signed before then would be grandfathered in.

Caterpillar has been building relations with Cuba, which needs to update its ageing infrastructure, and lobbying to lift the U.S. embargo on the country.

Former Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman visited in May last year to meet with the government and make a donation to the foundation that preserves the heritage of U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway in Cuba.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2016

Caterpillar Names Rimco Official Dealer for Cuba

PEORIA, Ill. – Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) today announced that it has selected Rimco, a privately owned Puerto Rico-based company, to be the Cat dealer for Cuba. Currently, Rimco serves as the Cat dealer for Puerto Rico and the Eastern Caribbean. Upon easing of trade restrictions, customers in Cuba will be able to purchase Cat products through Rimco in accordance with U.S. and Cuba regulations.

“We’re pleased to take this important step with our longtime partner, Rimco,” said Philip Kelliher, vice president with responsibility for the Americas & Europe Distribution Services Division. “Cuba needs access to the types of products that Caterpillar makes and, upon easing of trade restrictions, we look forward to providing the equipment needed to contribute to the building of Cuba’s infrastructure. This momentous announcement is part of our preparations in anticipation of the United States lifting its 55-year-old trade embargo on Cuba.”

Caterpillar, an advocate for change in policy toward Cuba for nearly two decades, will continue its work with the Administration and Congress to end the embargo.

“We’re exceptionally proud of our 34-year relationship with Caterpillar,” said Richard F. McConnie, President of Rimco. “There is great affinity between Cuba and Puerto Rico as a result of our shared language, culture and traditions. Rimco will be honored to serve the Cuba market once the United States and Cuba re-establish commercial relations.”

On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced that the United States would move to normalize relations with Cuba. Since that historic day, embassies have opened in each nation and there have been gradual steps to open diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.

While steps remain until relations are fully normalized, including lifting the embargo, Rimco and Caterpillar will continue preparations to best serve the Cuban marketplace with construction and mining equipment, power systems, marine and industrial engines.

About Caterpillar

For 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent.  Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets.  With 2015 sales and revenues of $47.011 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.  The company principally operates through its three product segments - Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment.  For more information, visit caterpillar.com.  To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

About Rimco

Rimco is the Caterpillar dealer for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Islands. It is a privately-held Puerto Rico company founded by the McConnie family in 1981. The company has built a strong reputation in the industry with its superior sales, rental and product support capabilities. Rimco sells construction equipment, power systems and engines to its customers in the construction, quarry & aggregates, waste, industrial, commercial and marine segments. Rimco also has a complete fleet of equipment and power systems available for rental through its 5 Cat Rental Stores located in Puerto Rico and Barbados. Additional information about the Rimco organization, its products and services can be found at www.rimcocat.com.  

Paul Manafort Visited The Republic Of Cuba Within The Last Twelve Months

According to a document (see page 12) released on 31 October 2017 by the United States Department of Justice, Mr. Paul J. Manafort Jr. visited the Republic of Cuba during the last twelve months.

"Within the last year, Manafort has traveled to Dubai, Cancun, Panama City, Havana, Shanghai, Madrid, Tokyo, and Grand Cayman Island."

LINK TO DOCUMENT IN PDF FORMAT

Cuba's 2017-2018 Portfolio Of Opportunities For Foreign Investment

Cuba publishes its Portfolio of Opportunities For Foreign Investment

LINK TO 2017-2018 DOCUMENT IN PDF FORMAT

LINK TO 2016-2017 DOCUMENT IN PDF FORMAT

US Food/Ag Exports To Cuba Increase 66%

ECONOMIC EYE ON CUBA©
October2017

August 2017 Food/Ag Exports To Cuba Increased 66%- 1
Healthcare Product Exports US$191,581.00- 2
Humanitarian Donations US$266,111.00- 2
Obama Administration Initiatives Exports Continue To Increase For Airlines/Hotel- 3
U.S. Port Export Data- 14

AUGUST 2017 FOOD/AG EXPORTS TO CUBA INCREASED 66%- Exports of food products & agricultural commodities from the United States to the Republic of Cuba in August 2017 were US$28,627,776.00 compared to US$17,227,854.00 in August 2016 and US$2,254,957.00 in August 2015.  

Complete Report In PDF Format

President Trump And Vice President Pence Speak About Cuba

The Honorable
Donald Trump
President of the United States

16 October 2017
Press Conference
Rose Garden
The White House

Q General Kelly said just last week that you believe that Cuba could stop the attacks against Americans. Do you believe them, that Cuba is -- do you believe Cuba is responsible?

THE PRESIDENT: I think Cuba knew about it, sure. I do believe Cuba is responsible. I do believe that. And it's a very unusual attack, as you know, but I do believe Cuba is responsible, yes.

United States Department of State
Briefing
17 October 2017

QUESTION: Can I just talk quickly about the Cuba attack?

MS NAUERT: Yeah.

QUESTION: Yeah.

QUESTION: The President answered yesterday a question about whether or not he believes that Cuba is responsible for the attacks on U.S. personnel in the affirmative. And he said, “It’s a very unusual attack, as you know, but I do believe Cuba is responsible, yes.”

MS NAUERT: Yeah.

QUESTION: That runs counter to what you have told us so far, that the investigation is ongoing and that while you hold Cuba responsible for the safety of these diplomats you don’t hold them responsible for the attacks. Does the President know something --

MS NAUERT: Well, we’ve been clear in saying that an investigation is ongoing. I think what the President was saying and also what his Chief of Staff General Kelly was saying last week is the same thing that we have been saying, in that Cuba is responsible for protecting our U.S. embassy personnel, our diplomats who are serving down there, under the Vienna Conventions. That has been very clear all along. They have that responsibility. That is what they are supposed to do. They have not ensured the protection and the safety and security of our personnel down there, and that position hasn’t changed. That’s where we stand.

QUESTION: But with all due respect, that’s not what the President said.

MS NAUERT: Well, that’s what the intent was. We’ve not changed our view on that. The administration has not changed its view on that. The investigation remains ongoing. But we’ve also been clear about this, and at the State Department we tend to be super, super, super, super cautious about some of the things we say. But to anyone who knows anything about the Cuban Government and the past of the Cuban Government, it’s hard to imagine that certain things wouldn’t be known that were taking place on that island right there. Okay.

QUESTION: But you do acknowledge, though, that the President --

QUESTION: Regarding the (inaudible), Ms. Nauert.

QUESTION: -- that the President’s comments caused some confusion. I mean, otherwise why did the department feel it necessary to send a cable to all the embassies and consulates around the world titled, “Clarifying the Cuban Stance,” after the comments were made --

MS NAUERT: Well, we always --

QUESTION: -- and in which that cable says specifically that we have not assigned --

MS NAUERT: We always do send out cables that explain any kind of changes in U.S. policy, and my understanding that that cable was anticipated. That was something that we had --

QUESTION: Just coincidence that it was (inaudible)?

MS NAUERT: No, no, no. That is something that we had planned for in working on a cable that would go out across the world to alert people to some of the health concerns and areas and symptoms that people were experiencing. Okay, guys?

QUESTION: But still --

MS NAUERT: We got to leave it there. Thank you.

QUESTION: But hold on. That was – but that last thing you said, though --

MS NAUERT: Yes?

QUESTION: -- and it’s something that you said last Thursday for the first time that it’s a small island and there’s no way that the regime wouldn’t know --

MS NAUERT: Yeah.

QUESTION: Are you now at least implicating that they’re complicit somehow in the attacks?

MS NAUERT: I am not saying that. An investigation is underway, but I will just highlight that people who know about the background of the Cuban Government, it would be hard to imagine that folks wouldn’t know exactly what would be going on with them that’s on borders. Okay?

QUESTION: But that sounds like you’re saying you have someone in Cuba, in the Cuban Government --

MS NAUERT: Guys, I’m going to leave it at that. Okay? Thank you.

The Honorable
Mike Pence
Vice President of the United States

11 October 2017
Naval Observatory
Washington, DC
Hispanic Heritage Month

"US dollars will no longer prop up a monopoly that exploits" Cubans, and added: "Que viva Cuba libre!".

Statement By The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Of The Republic Of Cuba

On September 29, 2017, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the decision to significantly downscale the diplomatic staff of the US embassy in Havana and withdraw all their relatives, claiming that there had been “attacks” perpetrated against US Government officials in Cuba which have harmed their health.

Once again, on October 3, the US Government, in an unwarranted act, decided that 15 officials of the Cuban Embassy in Washington should depart from the United States, claiming that the US had reduced their diplomatic staffing levels in Havana and that the Cuban Government had failed to take all appropriate steps to prevent “attacks” against them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protests and condemns this unfounded and unacceptable decision as well as the pretext used to justify it, for it has been asserted that the Cuban Government did not take the appropriate measures to prevent the occurrence of the alleged incidents.

In the meeting that, at the proposal of the Cuban side, was held with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, warned him against the adoption of hasty decisions that were not supported by evidence; urged him not to politicize a matter of this nature and once again required the effective cooperation from the US authorities to clarify facts and conclude the investigation.

It is the second time, after May 23, 2017, that the State Department orders two Cuban diplomats in Washington to abandon the country; that the US Government reacts in a hasty, inappropriate and unthinking way, without having evidence of the occurrence of the adduced facts, for which Cuba has no responsibility whatsoever and before the conclusion of the investigation that is still in progress.

Just as was expressed by the Cuban Foreign Minister to Secretary of State Tillerson on September 26, 2017, Cuba, whose diplomatic staff members have been victims in the past of attempts perpetrated against their lives, who have been murdered, disappeared, kidnapped or attacked during the performance of their duty, has seriously and strictly observed its obligations under the Geneva Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 referring to the protection and integrity of diplomatic agents accredited in the country, in which it has an impeccable record.

As was informed by the Ministry on August 9 last, since February 17, 2017, when the US embassy and State Department notified the alleged occurrence of incidents against some officials of that diplomatic mission and their relatives as from November 2016, arguing that these had caused them injuries and other disorders, the Cuban authorities have acted with utmost seriousness, professionalism and immediacy to clarify this situation and opened an exhaustive and priority investigation following instructions from the top level of the Government. The measures adopted to protect the US diplomatic staff, their relatives and residences were reinforced; new expeditious communication channels were established between the US embassy and the Diplomatic Security Department and a committee of experts was created to make a comprehensive analysis of facts, which was made up by law enforcement officials, physicians and scientists.

In the face of the belated, fragmented and insufficient information supplied by the US, the Cuban authorities requested further information and clarifications from the US embassy in order to carry out a serious and profound investigation.

The US embassy only delivered some data of interest on the alleged incidents after February 21, when President Raúl Castro Ruz personally reiterated to the Chargé d’Affairs of the US diplomatic mission how important it was for the competent authorities from both countries to cooperate and exchange more information. Nevertheless, the data supplied later on continued to be lacking in the descriptions or details that would facilitate the characterization of facts or the identification of potential perpetrators, in case there were any.

In the weeks that followed, in view of new reports on the alleged incidents and the scarce information that had been delivered, the Cuban authorities reiterated the need to establish an effective cooperation and asked the US authorities for more information and insisted that the occurrence of any new incident should be notified in real time, which would provide for a timely action.

Besides all of the above and in the interest of contributing to the investigation and legal process established by virtue of the Cuban Criminal Procedural Law, the US received from Cuba some requests for information as part of the inquiry procedure.

The information delivered by the US authorities led the committee of Cuban experts conclude that this was insufficient and that the main obstacle to clarify the incidents had been the impossibility to have direct access to the injured people and the physicians who examined them; the belated delivery of evidence and their deficient value; the absence of reliable first-handand verifiable information and the inability to exchange with US experts who are knowledgeable about this kind of events and the technology that could have been used, despite having repeatedly stating this as a requirement to be able to move forward in the investigation.

Only after repeated requests were conveyed to the US Government, some representatives of specialized agencies of that country finally traveled to Havana on June last, met with their Cuban counterparts and expressed their intention to cooperate in a more substantive way in the investigation of the alleged incidents.  They again visited Cuba in August and September, and for the first time in more than 50 years they were allowed to work on the ground, for which they were granted all facilities, including the possibility of importing equipment, as a gesture of good will that evidenced the great interest of the Cuban government in concluding the investigation.

The Cuban authorities highly assessed the three visits made by the US specialized agencies ,which have recognized the high professional level of the investigation started by Cuba and its high technical andscientific component, and which, as a preliminary result, concluded that, so far, according to the information available and the data supplied by the United States, there were no evidence of the occurrence ofthe alleged incidents or the causes and the origin of the health disorders reportedby the US diplomats and their relatives.  Neither has it been possible to identify potential perpetrators or persons with motivations, intentions or means to perpetrate this type of actions; nor was it possible to establish the presence of suspicious persons or means at the locations where such facts have been reported or in their vicinity.  The Cuban authorities are not familiar with the equipment or the technology that could be used for that purpose; nor do they have information indicating their presence in the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically rejects any responsibility of the Cuban Government in the alleged incidents and reiterates once again that Cuba has never perpetrated, nor will it ever perpetrate attacks of any sort against diplomatic officials or their relatives, without any exception. Neither has it ever allowed nor will it ever allow its territory to be used by third parties with that purpose.

The Ministry emphasizes that the US Government announced decision to reduce Cuba’s diplomatic staff in Washington without the conclusive results from the investigation and without evidence of the incidents that would be affecting their officials in Cuba has an eminently political character.

The Ministry urges the competent authorities of the US Government not to continue politicizing this matter, which can provoke an undesirable escalation and would rarify and reverse even more bilateral relations, which were already affected by the announcement of a new policy made in June last by President Donald Trump.

The Ministry reiterates Cuba’s disposition to continue fostering a serious and objective cooperation between the authorities of both countries with the purpose of clarifying these facts and conclude the investigation, for which it will be essential to count on the most effective cooperation of the US competent agencies.

Havana, October 3, 2017.

(Cubaminrex)

US Department Of State Background Briefing: Cuba Embassy Expulsions

Background Briefing: State Department Official on Cuba

Special Briefing
State Department Official
Via Teleconference

October 3, 2017

MODERATOR: Good morning. And thanks, everyone, for joining us for our Cuba call. We’re joined again this week by [State Department Official]. But I’d like to remind you that this call is on background. It will be attributable to a State Department official. This call will also be embargoed until 11 a.m. Eastern Time today. I know you’re all anxious to get started, so with that, I’ll turn it over to [State Department Official].

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you, [Moderator]. Good morning. This morning, the Department of State informed the Government of Cuba it was ordering the departure of 15 of its officials from its embassy in Washington, D.C. This move does not signal a change of policy or determination of responsibility for the attacks on U.S. Government personnel in Cuba. We are maintaining diplomatic relations with Havana. The decision on expulsions was taken due to Cuba’s inability to protect our diplomats in Havana, as well as to ensure equity in the impact on our respective operations.

As you know, on September 29th, the department ordered the departure of nonemergency personnel assigned to the U.S. embassy in Havana, as well as all family members. Investigations into the attacks are ongoing, as investigators have been unable to determine who or what is causing these attacks.

Regarding the attacks, there are now 22 persons medically confirmed to have experienced health effects due to the attacks on diplomatic personnel in Havana. This information was confirmed yesterday after the decision-making process for the expulsions was well underway. The Cuban Government has told us it will continue its investigation into these attacks, and we will continue to cooperate that – with them in this effort. We will also continue our own investigations into these attacks.

With that, I’m ready to take your questions. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Okay. First question, please. And let’s limit them to one question per reporter; we have a lot of people on the line. Thanks.

OPERATOR: Our first question comes from the line of Matt Spetalnick with Reuters. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes. Thank you very much. Just a couple of quick questions. What would it take in terms of Cuban action to return the U.S. diplomats to Cuba and to allow Cubans back – these 15 to return to the U.S.? Do you have an estimate of the percentage that these 15 make up of the Cuban diplomatic staff in the U.S.? And how much time are you giving the Cubans to leave?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We’re giving the Cubans seven days for their personnel to depart. Are we doing more than one question? Should I ask the last one or the first one?

MODERATOR: Go ahead. Just – keep them tight, please.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: With regard to what it will take to restore operations, we have underscored repeatedly to the Cuban Government its responsibility for the safety, well-being, security, and protection of our diplomatic staff under the Vienna Convention in Havana. We will need full assurances from the Cuban Government that these attacks will not continue before we can even contemplate returning personnel.

MODERATOR: Okay. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Josh Lederman with AP. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hey. Thanks for doing this. Two quick ones: One, can you say what the specific diplomatic action that you’re taking are? Are you PNGing these people? Are you asking the Cubans to pull them, and if they don’t’ pull them then you will PNG them? How precisely is that going to work? And then just second, on this thing, you’re talking about needing full assurances from the Cuban Government. That presupposes that you think the Cuban Government has the ability to put a stop to this if they wanted to. Can you explain – can you square how you’re saying you don’t know who or what is causing this, yet you believe it is within Cuba’s ability to stop it? Thank you.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: No. Our position on assurances does not presume Cuban culpability. What it does is require the Cuban Government to be able to fulfill its treaty obligations for the safety, well-being, and protection of foreign diplomats in their country. And until they can give that assurance, our personnel, we have judged, are not safe and secure in the country.

We are expelling the 15 Cubans today. They are not being declared persona non grata. And we expect them to leave within seven days.

MODERATOR: Okay. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: We go to Rich Edson, Fox News Channel. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Good morning, guys. The latest attack was still in August – can you confirm that? Are all the U.S. diplomats who are required to leave Havana and Cuba, have they left? And just a bit on – follow up on what Josh was asking. If these attacks just stop and it’s six months, a year down the road, there’s no determination, would then the United States consider increasing its diplomatic presence in Cuba?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Rich, I’m not going to talk about hypothetical conditions or timeframes. It just – it’s just not productive at this point. The first question was, again?

QUESTION: (Inaudible) saying are medically affected. Was the latest attack still in August? And are – the U.S. diplomats leaving Cuba, are they all gone?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. Yeah. So we are in the process of the ordered departure of our staff. It will take us a few days to get everyone out. But we expect everyone to be out by the end of the week. We have given the Cuban Government seven days to depart.

MODERATOR: Okay. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Felicia Schwartz with The Wall Street Journal, go ahead.

QUESTION: Can you clarify if the 22nd person affected – you mentioned was in August or September. And is the 22 just American government personnel, or does this include any dependents or family members, and have they been affected?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The 22nd person was – yeah – was a person who suffered an attack in January of this year and who was subsequently re-evaluated based on symptoms and conditions the person was experiencing.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Michelle Kosinski with CNN, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Thank you. So if you don’t know what caused it, who did it, and the symptoms are different among victims, how do you know it’s an attack? Why are you calling it an attack? And to go back to a previous question someone had asked, asked what percentage this represents of the staff at the Cuban Embassy. Thank you.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The attacks reflect an ongoing series of incidents that are affecting our diplomatic personnel, and they have persisted over a long period of time now that has made it very clear that our people are suffering and are suffering these attacks from some unknown means and method. And the decision to call them attacks reflects that there’s been a consistent pattern of our people being affected, and there’s no other conclusion that we could draw.

I think the issue with regard to the number of Cubans departing is that it ensures that we have equitable staffing levels to allow our embassies to operate. I’m not going to get into the specifics of what the specific percentage is. I don’t know that we have a specific figure.

MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you. Next question.

OPERATOR: We go to Carol Morello with Washington Post.

QUESTION: Hi. Thanks for doing this. Like many other reporters here, I’ve been getting phone calls from people, including physicians, speculating on what the causes were. A couple of physicians have suggested there might be some degree of psychosomatic mass hysteria going on. I was wondering if you’ve ruled that out.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Again, I’m not a medical professional. I know that the medical teams are looking at all of the symptoms and are considering all of the possibilities. But they have been able to confirm the symptoms that we’ve previously described are occurring and our people are demonstrating physical symptoms.

MODERATOR: And next question, please.

OPERATOR: Michele Kelemen with NPR, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah. Hi. Do you have specific names of Cubans who you want – who you’re expelling? Or are you leaving that decision up to the Cuban Government on how they should downsize?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I spoke with the Cuban ambassador this morning at 9 o’clock. We provided a diplomatic note that did provide a list of Cubans. He had some questions as to how this might affect their embassy operations, but yes, we did give them a list.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question.

OPERATOR: We go to David Adams with Univision. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Is it true that the Cubans, Bruno Rodriguez, told Secretary of State Tillerson the other day that the Cubans are aware that this was a rogue operation by people inside Cuba, inside its own government services?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I’m not going to comment on diplomatic conversations. I would refer you to the Secretary’s readout that we issued.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

QUESTION: Hernan Martin with EFE News Service, please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, this is actually Lucia Leal. I wanted to see if you – if the possibility of closing the U.S. embassy in Cuba is out of the table now. And these announcements have come in waves. Why not announce this on Friday, last Friday? Thank you.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I want to – I want to reiterate what I said in my earlier statement. This does not signal a change of policy or a determination of responsibility for the attacks. We are maintaining diplomatic relations with Cuba at this time.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: And we’ll go to Nora Gamez with Miami Herald.

QUESTION: Hi. After this measure, the Cuban embassy will probably also cut its consular services and the family reunification program and visas in Havana are suspended, so family reunification would be severely impacted. What’s the message to Cuban Americans that will not be able to see their families because of this crisis?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think we are evaluating the impact our reduction of staff will have on those issues, but the Secretary has made clear first and foremost is the safety, security, and well-being of our diplomatic personnel overseas. There will be emergency services that will remain available.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Next is Francesco Fontemaggi with AFP. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for doing this. Just a quick follow-up on a previous question. Why didn’t you announce your decision last Friday when you announced the recall of your diplomats? Because don’t you feel that this will be taken as an escalation by Cuba if there are more steps and more steps? Thank you.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think this reflects a deliberate process to work through the issues related to this incident. I think first and foremost the Secretary wanted to focus on the safety and well-being of our personnel. Once having made that decision, we then moved on to consider ensuring that there would be an equitable impact in our two embassies’ ability to operate.

OPERATOR: And next we go to Tracy Wilkinson with Los Angeles Times. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you. Hi, [State Department Official]. You said you gave a list of your 15 names to the Cubans. Could you describe generically who these people are? Are these political officers, security officers, anything like that? And you said you didn’t want to give a percentage, but if the U.S. is bringing back, what, half of its staff, was this half of the Cuban staff?

And finally, just the same question that everyone has asked is it’s hard to square expelling Cubans with not blaming the Cubans for these attacks. Thanks.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: So again, the – we provided a list of personnel across the Cuban embassy to reflect the fact that we are only leaving emergency personnel in Havana to ensure that both embassy – there’s an equitable impact on both embassies’ operations. I think the percentages are very – roughly very close to each other. And then finally, again, we’re not assigning culpability. This is to ensure that there’s an equitable impact on our embassies’ ability to operate and to underscore to the Cubans that they must take more action to protect our people on the ground if we’re going to have a full range of embassy operations in both capitals.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: Gardiner Harris with New York Times. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, I’m just going to try again that other people have tried – you all said in the Russia tit-for-tat this specific number of embassy personnel and consulate personnel that would be allowed by both countries. Is it that Cuba is now going to be down to 27 people in the United States just like the United States is down to 27 people in Havana? Thanks.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: First, the Russia situation is very distinct from this situation. This is related to the safety and security and well-being of our embassy. We made a decision to move to ordered departure to ensure that only emergency personnel in Havana would remain, and I’m just not going to comment on the exact numbers that will remain in either post.

MODERATOR: Okay. (Inaudible) please.

OPERATOR: Conor Finnegan with ABC News.

QUESTION: Hey, thanks very much for holding the call. I just want to jump back to something you said in response to Tracy’s question. You said the Cubans must take more action. What specifically are you asking them to do if you don’t still know what the cause of these incidents are? Thank you.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Again, I think the conversations focus on the Cuban Government’s responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of diplomatic personnel that they host in their country. It’s not for us to outline a set of criteria for them to ensure that environment. But we are making it clear that the safety and well-being of our people is being affected by these health attacks and we can no longer expose them to the environment down there.

QUESTION: Okay.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: It’s Nick Wadhams with Bloomberg News. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thank you. My question is whether you have any indications this is happening in any other embassies either in the region or around the world, or if you’re taking steps to ensure that doesn’t happen.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yeah. I’m [State Department Official]. I am not aware of any other incidents in our region that have been reported to us. I can’t comment globally.

MODERATOR: Okay. And --

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I just don’t know.

MODERATOR: And final question, please.

OPERATOR: Steve Dorsey with CBS News Radio.

QUESTION: Hi, good morning. Can you tell us whether any posts from Cuban diplomats besides Washington and the United States are being affected by this move? And just quickly, Scott Hamilton, the head of the U.S. mission to Cuba, in a farewell message said he and his family are leaving this week from Cuba. Who has the State Department placed in charge of the U.S. mission to Cuba?

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: At this point, Scott Hamilton remains the charge. I don’t have any announcement on whether he’s departing or who would be replacing him.

MODERATOR: Okay. We thank you for joining us. We sure appreciate it. The call is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today and [State Department Official] will be named, please, as a State Department official. Thank you. We’ll see you later today.

US Department Of State Expels Fifteen Officials From Cuba's Embassy In Washington

Press Statement
Rex W. Tillerson
Secretary of State
Washington, DC

October 3, 2017

On October 3, the Department of State informed the Government of Cuba that it was ordering the departure of 15 of its officials from its embassy in Washington, D.C. The decision was made due to Cuba’s failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention. This order will ensure equity in our respective diplomatic operations.

On September 29, the Department ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Havana, as well as all family members. Until the Government of Cuba can ensure the safety of our diplomats in Cuba, our embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel to minimize the number of diplomats at risk of exposure to harm.

We continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba, and will continue to cooperate with Cuba as we pursue the investigation into these attacks.

Norwegian Cruise Lines Confirms Its Cuba Shore Excursions & Tour Locations Are Not Controlled By Military

Miami, Florida-based Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd. (NCL) has confirmed that its "shore excursions and tour locations have been thoroughly evaluated and none are military owned or operated.”

NCL has not published details as to how the process of evaluation was conducted and has not published a list of the shore excursions and tour locations. 

Travel agents and tour operators are expecting the NCL data to be published soon so that prospective travelers may be confident and comfortable with the selections made by NCL.

In June 2016, the Trump Administration announced that it would issue regulations designed to discourage, and in some cases prohibit United States companies from engaging in certain transactions with entities within the Republic of Cuba and individuals subject to United States jurisdiction who visit the Republic of Cuba from engaging in certain transactions with entities within the Republic of Cuba.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the United States Department of Commerce, and the United States Department of State are (were) expected to issue regulations and lists of entities within the Republic of Cuba that are controlled (owned/operated) by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of the Republic of Cuba.  These entities would be prohibited from engagement.

However, the Trump Administration, through the OFAC and BIS, did issue statements suggesting that existing operational agreements with FAR-controlled entities by airlines, cruise lines, tour operators and travel agents would be permitted to continue.

When Will US Department Of State Publish Addresses In Cuba Of Implicated Locations

Time To See Names & Addresses Of Hotels And Apartment Buildings In Havana

Travelers, Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Airlines & Cruise Lines Need To Know

Given the Travel Warning issued by the United States Department of State on 29 September 2017 was designed to proactively protect individuals subject to United States jurisdiction- by 1) encouraging them not to visit the Republic of Cuba and 2) if visiting the Republic of Cuba appreciating the potentiality of attacks, there is validity for the United States Department of State to immediately publish the locations of all known attacks- residences, hotels, etc.

The United States Department of State defines a Travel Warning:

"We issue a Travel Warning when we want you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all. Examples of reasons for issuing a Travel Warning might include unstable government, civil war, ongoing intense crime or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks. We want you to know the risks of traveling to these places and to strongly consider not going to them at all. Travel Warnings remain in place until the situation changes; some have been in effect for years."

One hotel has been officially identified as a location of an attack(s): NH Capri in Havana, which is managed by Madrid, Spain-based NH Hotel Group and owned by Republic of Cuba government-operated Grupo Caribe.  

Another property, Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana, managed by Grupo Caribe, has been unofficially reported as a location of an attack(s).

Both NH Capri and Hotel Nacional de Cuba are owned by Grupo Caribe.

If one or both have been confirmed as locations of attacks, why has the United States Department of State not immediately prohibited individuals subject to United States jurisdiction from residing at the properties?  Protection from an unknown.  That would seem prudent given the definition of a Travel Warning and the Republic of Cuba-related statements from the United States Department of State.

In addition, attacks have been confirmed at the residences in Havana of employees of the United States Embassy.  These residences (generally apartments within buildings), primarily located in the Vedado and Miramar districts, are owned by the government of the Republic of Cuba and rented to the government of the United States.

While the United States Department of State may posit that the addresses of the residences are not consequential and distract from the issue, and perhaps violate privacy, there is an argument that the publication of the information supplants any concerns due to the importance (urgency) for travelers to the Republic of Cuba.  It’s reasonable to believe that the United States Department of State will not continue to use the specific residences.  If the information is not published, there is less foundation for the Travel Warning.

Republic of Cuba nationals are hospitable, and often invite visitors to their residences.  With the proliferation of residences within the portfolio of San Francisco, California-based Airbnb, the availability of addresses where there have been reported attacks would assist travelers with proactively determining where they visit while within the Republic of Cuba.

Soon, the United States Department of State will issue a list of locations within the Republic of Cuba that are owned/controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) of the Republic of Cuba.  These locations will be prohibited for use by individuals subject to United States jurisdiction.

If important enough for the United States Department of State to publish a list of hotels and restaurants to avoid due to their ownership, then a list of hotels and residence addresses to avoid due to potential health issues would seem far more significant.

With the United States Department of State confirming that they do not know the source(s) of the attacks or the tools used to create the attacks, there is a possibility that travelers could unknowingly encounter the active or residual source(s) or tools of an attack.

Given the denial of responsibility by the government of the Republic of Cuba, unlikely would the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of the Republic of Cuba object to the release of the addresses. 

Absent full disclosure, the issuance of the Travel Warning unnecessarily maintains a suspect political component which, if left unaddressed, may negatively, with potentially fatal results, have travelers be circumspect of a Travel Warning issued by the United States Department of State for any country. 

The United States Department of State has reported twenty-one (21) individuals subject to United States jurisdiction who are employees (or spouses) of the United States Embassy in Havana, Republic of Cuba, having been impacted by attacks.  The government of Canada has also reported an attack.

According to the United States Department of State: "These employees have suffered significant injuries as a consequence of these attacks. Affected individuals have exhibited a range of physical symptoms, including ear complaints, hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance problems, visual complaints, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues, and difficulty sleeping."

There are always moments for both the government of the United States and the government of the Republic of Cuba to be transparent; this is one of those moments. 

COMPLETE TEXT IN PDF FORMAT

Statement By Government Of The Republic Of Cuba

Statement to the press by General Director for US Affairs, Josefina Vidal Ferreiro

Submitted by editor on Fri, 09/29/2017 - 15:31

Today, we have learned about a media note by the Department of State, informing of the decision of the US Government to draw down their Embassy staff in Havana.

As we informed on the past Tuesday, September 26, in a meeting held that day, at the proposal of the Cuban side, with Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla:

- Advised him not to take any hasty decisions, which are not based on evidences and conclusive investigation results;

- Urged him not to politicize a matter of this nature; and

- Reiterated to him the request for effective cooperation of the US authorities to bring to closure the ongoing investigation on the alleged incidents with US diplomats in Havana.

He underscored that the Government of Cuba has no responsibility whatsoever in the alleged incidents, and that it seriously and strictly observes its obligations under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, with regard to the protection of the integrity of diplomatic agents accredited in the country and of their family members, without exceptions.

We consider that the decision announced by the Department of State is hasty and that it will affect the bilateral relations, specifically, the cooperation in matters of mutual interest and the exchanges on different fields between both countries.

I wish to reaffirm Cuba’s willingness to continue an active cooperation between the authorities of both countries, to fully clarify these incidents, for which purpose a more effective involvement by the United States will be essential.

Havana, September 29, 2017

(Cubaminrex)

US Department Of State Briefing About Cuba

Press Releases: Senior State Department Officials on Cuba

Special Briefing
Senior State Department Officials Via Teleconference

September 29, 2017

MODERATOR: All right. Good morning, everyone. Thanks so much for joining us for this background call on Cuba. We are pleased today to have [Senior State Department Official One] join us. He will be known as Senior State Department Official One, and then [Senior State Department Official Two] joins us as well. He’s Senior State Department Official Two.

A reminder: This call is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. And with that, I’ll let the briefers start. [Senior State Department Official One]?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah, good morning. On September 29th, the Department ordered the departure of nonemergency personnel assigned to the U.S. embassy in Havana, as well as all family members. Over the past several months, at least 21 U.S. embassy employees have been targeted in specific attacks. The health, safety, and well-being of our embassy community are our greatest concerns. Investigations into the attacks are ongoing, as investigators have been unable to determine who or what is causing these attacks.

Until the Government of Cuba can assure the safety of U.S. Government personnel in Cuba, our embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel so as to minimize the number of U.S. Government personnel at risk of exposure. The remaining personnel will carry out core diplomatic and consular functions, including providing emergency assistance to U.S. citizens in Cuba. Routine visa operations are suspended indefinitely. Short-term travel by U.S. Government officials to Cuba will also be limited to those involved with the ongoing investigation or who have a need to travel related to the U.S. national security or crucial embassy operations. The United States will not send official delegations to Cuba or conduct bilateral meetings in Cuba for the time being. Meetings may continue in the United States.

The Department will issue a Travel Warning for U.S. citizens not to travel to Cuba, and informing them of our decision to draw down our diplomatic staff. The Travel Warning will note that over the past several months, numerous U.S. embassy employees have been targeted in specific attacks. These employees have suffered significant injuries as a consequence of these attacks. Affected individuals have exhibited a range of physical symptoms, including ear complaints, hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance problems, visual complaints, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues, and difficulty sleeping.

The governments of the United States and Cuba have not yet identified the responsible party, but the Government of Cuba is responsible for taking all appropriate steps to prevent attacks on our diplomatic personnel in Cuba. Because our personnel’s safety is at risk and we are unable to identify the source of the attacks, we believe that U.S. citizens may also be at risk and warn them not to travel to Cuba. The Travel Warning will advise U.S. travelers the reduction of staffing at the embassy would impact its ability to offer many routine services to U.S. citizens. Emergency services will still be provided.

I want to stress that the decision to reduce our diplomatic presence in Havana was made to ensure the safety of our personnel. We maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba and our work in Cuba continues to be guided by the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. We are continuing our investigation into the attacks and the Cuba – the Cuban Government has told us they will continue their efforts as well. We acknowledge the efforts the Cuban Government has made to investigate and its cooperation in facilitating the U.S. investigation, but we have members of our embassy community who have suffered physical harm due to these ongoing attacks in Havana, most recently in late August. The Cuban Government is obligated under the Vienna Convention to take all appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in Cuba.

With that, I’m happy to answer your questions.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you do have a question, please press *1 on your phone.

MODERATOR: Okay. Let’s start with the first question, please.

OPERATOR: That question will come from Elise Labott with CNN. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks very much for doing this call. Two questions. First of all, I know you said that you do not know who is responsible. Have you ruled out that possibly a third country could be involved? Specifically, the Russians have had some experience with these type of incidents over the – over history and have maintained a very close relationship with Cuba, so I know that there’s been some suspicion. But are you ruling out a third country?

And then, secondly, you said that Americans could be at risk. It doesn’t seem as if the ambassador or maybe like the very top people in the embassy were targeted. So why do you think that Americans are at risk, and what would you say to – obviously, you need to protect your personnel, but what would you say to those who are concerned that by warning Americans not to go there, this is more of a political – politicization of it?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: We have not ruled out the possibility of a third country as a part of the investigation, but that investigation continues and will continue irrespective of the ordered departure. We will continue to investigate this – these attacks and to get to the bottom of them.

With regard to the threat to American citizens, the – there’s no more important mission for the State Department or a U.S. embassy overseas than to protect and advise Americans on potential threats to their safety, health, and well-being. The fact that some of these attacks have occurred in hotels where American citizens could be at and that we have no way of advising American citizens on how they could mitigate such attacks, we felt we must warn them on not to travel to Cuba until we understand and know more about the source and means and ways to mitigate these attacks that are occurring.

MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you. Let’s please keep your questions to one per person. We have a lot of people on the call and want to make sure we get around.

Next question, please.

OPERATOR: And that question will come from Andrea Mitchell with NBC. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: When you say that the Cuban Government is cooperating, can you give us any more information about whether or not their offer to have the FBI go has been responded to, whether the FBI is on the ground in Havana? Who is investigating this for the U.S. Government in Havana and how far along has the investigation come? What – how would you describe the status of the investigation?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I would describe the cooperation that the Cuban Government has given to our efforts to understand what is happening in this – these attacks to have been ongoing, and we expect it to continue. With respect to questions related to the investigation, I would refer you to the Department of Justice.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: That will come from Rich Edson with Fox News Channel. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Good morning. Was the Secretary seriously considering closing the embassy? And are there any reports of non-government employees affected? Any sense that the attackers know specifically who they are attacking? Are they targeting senior employees or intelligence personnel over others?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: The first question – the evaluation to go to ordered departure took a look at our entire embassy operation and we are moving to an ordered departure that retains emergency staff so that we can provide basic services to American citizens and fulfill our diplomatic mission. With respect to whether there are any reports to American citizens, we are not aware of any American citizens; reports have been made to us, the Department of State. But nonetheless, given the significance of these attacks and the fact that they’ve occurred in hotels, we believe without any means to mitigate them we must warn American citizens not to travel to Cuba.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Michele Kelemen with NPR. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah, hi. I’m wondering if you can give us a sense of how big the ordered departure is. Is it more than half of the embassy? And then is the U.S. also expelling any Cubans, or is there any follow-up on that? Is there – are you satisfied with the Cuban assurances that they haven’t carried out these attacks?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: The ordered departure will result in more than half of the embassy footprint being reduced. The – I’m sorry, could you repeat the second part of that question?

QUESTION: Are you asking Cubans to send anybody home?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I have nothing to report on that – on that issue at this time.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question comes from Margaret Brennan with CBS News. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Thanks for doing this call. My question is you pointed out that these attacks appeared to have stopped in August. Do you see that in some way as a success that after you have raised concerns and shown that you have knowledge of what’s going on that these attacks appeared to have stopped? And can you explain why you use the word “targeted” in describing these attacks? You haven’t really said who was targeted, but why do you think that this is, in fact, intentional, and who has been targeted?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: First, I don’t believe I said the attacks have stopped. I believe I said that the last reported attacks were in August. I think because of our concern for the safety and well-being of our staff, that is why we’re going to ordered departure. We don’t know the means, the methods, or how these attacks are being carried out, and so I could not characterize them as having stopped in August.

Separately, targeted in the sense – only in the sense that 21 of our diplomats have suffered from these different attacks, and it does appear that U.S. embassy personnel are most at risk. But we cannot rule out, given the nature of these attacks, that the American public traveling in Cuba might not also be at risk as well.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Conor Finnegan with ABC News. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hey, thanks very much for holding the call. Previously we’ve referred to what’s going on in Cuba as “incidents,” and now you’re using the term “attacks.” I’m wondering why the change in terminology. And among the many injuries that you had listed you didn’t mention traumatic brain injury, which the American Foreign Service Union has mentioned. So are you denying that TBI is one of the symptoms that American diplomats have had? Thank you.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: The Secretary of State has said very clearly that these are health attacks and they are affecting the health and safety and well-being of our staff. I’ve listed out the physical symptoms that have been present – presented. I don’t think it’s in my competence to describe a medical diagnosis or specific syndromes or conditions.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Felicia Schwartz with Wall Street Journal. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks for holding the call. Can you talk a little bit more about the meeting that Secretary Tillerson had with his Cuban counterpart earlier this week? Did the Secretary tell him that this would be coming? Did the Cuban foreign minister try to convince the Secretary otherwise? Did he try to guarantee the safety of American diplomats? Were you not satisfied with those conversations?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I’d refer you both to our readout of the conversation and the Cuban readout of those conversations, which I think actually captured both sides’ conversation.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: And just as a quick reminder, if you do have a question, please press *1 at this time. Our next question comes from Carol Morello with Washington Post. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Thanks for doing this. Say, so you mentioned this happened in hotels. I’m wondering if anyone other than diplomats has been affected, like any other guests that you’re aware of and maybe some of the diplomats who have been living in the hotels, if that’s possible. If you could give us some idea of whether it’s only diplomats in hotels and if they’ve been living there, and if any Cuban staff at the embassy have been injured. Thank you.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: The staff who were affected at hotels were temporary duty staff at the embassy. I will let my colleague answer as to whether we have any staff resident at the hotel. I do think there are times when people are arriving and leaving that they may be out of living quarters, that they might be in the hotel, so I don’t want to say definitively people don’t live there, because there’s transition periods. But there have been attacks at the hotel. They have been – they have involved our U.S. personnel, and that’s what I know.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: I would just add we’re not aware of any hotel staff or other individuals who have been attacked or suffered these systems beyond the U.S. Government personnel at the hotel. And in terms of our Cuban staff at the embassy, we’re not aware of any incidents involving them or attacks involving them. The victims that we’re aware of are the 21 U.S. Government personnel.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Francesco Fontemaggi with AFP. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for doing this. Can you tell us when and how the Cuban authorities were informed of your decision, and even if you say that you maintain relation with Cuba, don’t you feel that there could be consequences given they say they will respond to that decision while withdrawing some personnel from Cuban embassy in the States? Thank you?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: We have repeatedly throughout this process had conversations with the Cuban Government at different levels, both in Havana and in Washington, and communicated our concerns to them. I want to clarify perhaps this characterization on my part. The accurate readout is the readout we issued of the meeting. The Cuban – I refer you to the Cuban statement for their characterization of the meeting, which reflects their views and may not – which we may not necessarily agree with in total. But we have – we do have areas of disagreement with the statement.

MODERATOR: Okay. [Senior State Department Official One], you have to go with --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah, I do.

MODERATOR: Okay. So [Senior State Department Official One] needs to run. Our [Senior State Department Official Two] will take over. [Senior State Department Official One], thank you so much. I know you have a lot of calls and a lot of work to do today.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yep, thank you.

MODERATOR: Okay, folks, stand by one second. Okay, [Senior State Department Official Two]. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: And that’ll come from the line of Gardiner Harris with New York Times. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hey guys, thanks for doing this. Maybe you can clarify the – what you think the Cuban Government’s role or not role or have you ruled out the idea that – in other words, do you know definitively that this is a Cuban Government operation? Do you have reason to suspect that it’s not a Cuban Government operation? That would help us explain why you’re not kicking out Cuban Government officials in the United States and you’re not taking more sort of punitive actions against the Cuban Government.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah, no, no, thanks. As [Senior State Department Official One] mentioned, the investigation continues, but at this moment we don’t have definitive answers on the source or cause of the attacks. And so I really can’t speculate on engagement or not by Cubans or others parties. The investigation’s ongoing and we will see where the facts lead us in terms of cause or source.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from Krishnadev Calamur with The Atlantic. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks for doing this. If American diplomats have been at risk, why aren’t you removing everyone?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: There was a careful analysis of both the risk and the estimate of what would be needed to reduce that risk, and one of the measures that was considered prudent was to considerably resist – reduce the number of people present, thereby reducing the exposure – individuals who could be subject to these attacks. And so this was seen as a major step towards addressing some of our vulnerabilities and reducing our exposure.

MODERATOR: Next question.

OPERATOR: That question comes from the line of Bill Faries with Bloomberg. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hey, good morning. Thanks for hosting this call. You say that you’re going to be suspending routine visa operations at the embassy in Havana. How many of those procedures would you typically be carrying out in a month? I’m just trying to get a sense of how many – how many people, how many Cubans, I guess, this affects. And is there anything more you’re doing on the U.S. side besides the warning to limit U.S. citizen travel to Cuba?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: I mean, the travel warning is to advise Americans on the risk if they travel to Cuba, and that’s what we’re putting out at this time. We can get you the numbers on a monthly basis in terms of the number of visas that were issued at post. I don’t have that with me right here today.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question.

QUESTION: That question comes from the line of Steve Dorsey with CBS News Radio. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks for taking my question. I just want to protest why this call isn’t on the record considering there’s no State Department on-camera briefing today. I do want to ask what measures on the ground in Cuba the State Department is taking besides the withdrawal of staffers from the embassy. Is there more security? Are they being placed in different residences? What other measures are being taken?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah, no, we don’t discuss our security postures or security measures.

MODERATOR: Okay. Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question comes from Nike Ching with Voice of America. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you so much for doing this. My question has been addressed. Thank you.

OPERATOR: Thank you. The next question comes from Franco Ordonez with McClatchy. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for doing the call. I wanted to ask you, is there any more information that you can provide on what is – is this a device? What is the technology that you guys are researching that could produce some of this? Also, I was hoping you could provide a little bit more information on what jobs or what position will be staying in Havana. I know non-emergency will be leaving, so what – what are the roles that will be staying and how will those people be protected?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: As I mentioned, we continue to investigate the attacks in Havana. At this stage, we still do not have definitive answers on source or cause of the attacks. I don’t want to get into speculating about types of technology or research or get into the details of our investigation at this point, so can’t go into that details.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: The next question is from John Hudson with BuzzFeed News. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks. Just following up on that, there’s obviously been a lot of speculation about the sonic device or acoustic device. Is that – and some audio experts have been brought in in the public to sort of address the plausibility of that. Do investigators still believe that that would be a plausible device related to these illnesses?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: As I mentioned, the investigation continues and we don’t have any definitive conclusions regarding cause, source, or any kind of technologies that might be engaged or might not have been used.

MODERATOR: Next question, please.

OPERATOR: And the next question is from Sarah Marsh with Reuters. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. I’m wondering what kind of visas you’ll still be processing in Havana and how Cubans will be able to seek visas for the U.S. generally.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: (Inaudible) is make available – and we’re looking at the possibility of people being able to apply for visas at embassies or consulates outside of Cuba in other countries. But we haven’t actually made definitive arrangements yet. We’re continuing to look at that. But all of the kind of regular visas or ordinary visas would not be issued through Havana.

MODERATOR: Next question.

OPERATOR: That question comes from the line of Michele Kosinski with CNN. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thank you. I know you don’t want to speculate, but I’m just wondering your change in terminology from “incidents” to “attacks” in a day’s time. Does that rule out, then, that this was something related to surveillance equipment, which would be an – having unintentional consequences of hurting these staffers? And also, the people who are left in Cuba, are they not at risk or are they at risk? Thanks.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah, no, in terms of technology, again, I would say the investigation’s not reached definitive conclusions on any, again, source, cause, type of technology that may or may not have been employed. So I’m not going to comment or speculate on what’s been ruled out or ruled in. I think the investigators are looking at the whole range of possibilities.

The purpose of the ordered departure is to reduce the numbers of Americans who are vulnerable to exposure from these possible – from further attacks or possible future attacks. The individuals at post – it does not mean that they are not risk, but by reducing the overall numbers of people, we have substantially reduced the number of people at risk and therefore reduced the exposure of the U.S. Government personnel.

MODERATOR: Okay. Thanks, folks. We’re going to have to end the call, and as a note at the end, I’d like to say that the Secretary, we expect, will be addressing this later in a statement today. He will be on the record. We feel that it’s important for the Secretary to make his firm position known, and that is why this call is on background. We will await the Secretary’s statement and we will put that out through our normal channels. Again, this call is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Senior State Department Official One and Senior State Department Official Two. Thank you so much and we’ll talk to you real soon.