HAVANA: Cuba on Tuesday slammed US President Donald Trump’s latest comments about the island as “disrespectful, unacceptable and meddling,” while reiterating it was not involved in the alleged incidents that had harmed US diplomats in Havana.
The sharply worded Foreign Ministry statement came after US and Cuban delegations met in Washington to discuss bilateral relations, the first such high-level meeting between the Cold War foes since Trump took office in January.
Their meeting took place on the same day Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, calling Cuba “corrupt and destabilizing.” He also said he would not lift the US trade embargo on Cuba until it made “fundamental reforms.”
Cuba said it had voiced “strong protest” against his comments, as well against his new policy toward the Communist-run nation. The Republican president announced in June a partial rollback of the US-Cuban detente forged by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.
“In the wake of the disrespectful, unacceptable and meddling statements made by President Donald Trump in his address to the UN General Assembly at a time when the US-Cuba Bilateral Commission was sitting in session, the Cuban delegation voiced a strong protest,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.
US-Cuban relations have become especially strained since the State Department said last month its personnel in Havana had experienced physical symptoms from what it could only describe as “incidents.”
The symptoms ranged from hearing loss to mild brain injury, a State Department official said last week, adding that the toll of victims had risen to 21 people linked to the US Embassy. Several Canadians were also affected.
Cuba has denied any involvement and the United States has not blamed it, although Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday it could close its embassy in response.
“Cuba has never perpetrated or will ever perpetrate actions of this nature, and has never permitted or will ever permit any third-party use of its territory for this purpose,” Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The Cuban authorities have shown keen interest in both clarifying this matter.”
![]()
Cuba calls Trump’s UN address ‘unacceptable and meddling’
Cuba calls Trump’s UN address ‘unacceptable and meddling’
Drone strike kills 1 in Russian border region ahead of Ukraine peace talks
One person was killed and two others wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a car in the Russian border region of Belgorod, local officials said Sunday, ahead of peace talks to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Paris this week.
Belgorod regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a young child was among the wounded.
In Ukraine, three people were wounded in the Kharkiv region in drone strikes overnight into Sunday, the country’s State Emergency Service said.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on Friday increased to four when two other bodies were found under the rubble of a building, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram Sunday.
The latest attacks came after national security advisers from Europe and other allies visited Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support, as a US-led diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine intensifies.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, preparing to travel to Paris for a meeting with partners, said Saturday that work on the peace proposals could now accelerate as Ukraine has shared all documents under discussion with the 18 national security advisers, including those on security guarantees.
He said representatives from Ukraine’s General Staff and military sector would meet on Monday in Paris, followed by a meeting Tuesday of European leaders, where he said he hoped documents on security guarantees would be finalized. He said there also would be meetings with US representatives in Paris.
Belgorod regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a young child was among the wounded.
In Ukraine, three people were wounded in the Kharkiv region in drone strikes overnight into Sunday, the country’s State Emergency Service said.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on Friday increased to four when two other bodies were found under the rubble of a building, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram Sunday.
The latest attacks came after national security advisers from Europe and other allies visited Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support, as a US-led diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine intensifies.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, preparing to travel to Paris for a meeting with partners, said Saturday that work on the peace proposals could now accelerate as Ukraine has shared all documents under discussion with the 18 national security advisers, including those on security guarantees.
He said representatives from Ukraine’s General Staff and military sector would meet on Monday in Paris, followed by a meeting Tuesday of European leaders, where he said he hoped documents on security guarantees would be finalized. He said there also would be meetings with US representatives in Paris.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.