The Cuban embassy in D.C. was hit with Molotov cocktails Sunday evening, according to the country’s foreign minister.
“The Cuban embassy in the U.S. was the target of a terrorist attack by an individual who launched 2 Molotov cocktails,” Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on a social media post. “The staff suffered no harm. Details are being worked out.”
In the evening of today, Sep 24, the Cuban embassy in the US was the target of a terrorist attack by an individual who launched 2 Molotov cocktails. The staff suffered no harm. Details are being worked out.
This is the second violent attack against #Cuba‘s diplomatic mission ⤵️
— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) September 25, 2023
The embassy is located at 2630 16th Street NW in Adams Morgan.
“We were contacted by embassy officials last night around 8:00 that an individual had thrown what would appear to be Molotov cocktails at the building,” U.S. Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to WTOP.
“There were no fires or significant damage when officers responded, and they are currently conducting an investigation to the circumstances of what occurred.”
No one is in custody, according to a statement from a spokesman with the U.S. Secret Service.
In 2020, a Cuban man named Alexander Alazo who sought asylum in the U.S. opened fire with an AK-47 at the Cuban Embassy, spraying the front of the building with nearly three dozen rounds. Authorities said the man told them he opened fire because he wanted to “get them before they could get him.”
The shooting left bullet holes in the glass around the embassy’s door, and bullets pierced the bronze statue of Jose Marti, the Cuban writer and national hero, as well as the columns and facade of the building.
In that case, court records show Alazo is pursuing an insanity defense in U.S. District Court.
Cuba built the embassy in 1917. It closed in January 1961 as Cold War tensions between the two countries escalated, and it reopened as an “interests section” in 1977. In July 2015, it became an embassy again as the two countries restored relations under President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
