The United States Continues to Protect Terrorists

Declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has learned, with deep concern, about the judgment delivered by a judge of the Court of the District of Columbia in the United States on May 1st, 2024, who acquitted Alexander Alazo Baró of the four charges he faced as a result of the terrorist attack he had perpetrated against the Cuban Embassy to the United States during the early hours of morning of April 30, 2020, claiming the insanity of the perpetrator.

Alazo, a person of Cuban origin who has lived in the United States since 2010, shot 32 rounds using an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle against Cuba’s diplomatic mission in Washington, thus causing extensive material damage outside and inside the building and jeopardizing the lives of several persons who were inside the building.

Alazo himself confessed that he had the intention to shoot down whatever stood in front of him, even human beings, if they happened to stand in the line of fire of his weapon.  This was a terrorist act perpetrated in the capital city of the United States against a permanent diplomatic mission.

At the moment when Alazo was placed under arrest, the systematic links he kept with the religious entity ‘Doral Jesus Worship Center’ in Miami Dade were well known. This Center is the meeting place for persons with a well-known behavior in favor of the aggression, hostility, violence and extremism against Cuba.

The terrorist was immediately arrested at the scene and the US government accused him of four charges established in the Federal Code of that country.  However, the US has been unable to classify the action for what it is: a terrorist act.

The US politicization of the attack perpetrated against the Cuban embassy in Washington became obvious early on. So was evidenced by the protracted process established to analyze proven facts.

Four years after this incident and a criminal process lacking transparency, the judge accepted a joint report issued by the prosecution and the defense  of the terrorist Alexander Alazo Baró which portrayed the perpetrator as a person who, at the moment of the incident, was not in full possession of his mental faculties and, consequently, he was pronounced not guilty.

This decision conveys a dangerous message of impunity to those who intend to engage in violent acts against diplomatic missions in the city of Washington.

On September 24, 2023, in the evening hours, an individual hurled two Molotov cocktails over the perimeter fence of the Cuban embassy in Washington and against the front façade of that building. This action occurred three years and five months after the attack perpetrated by Alazo. The US law enforcement authorities still claim not to know who the perpetrator was or what the details of such action were.

These terrorist acts are the direct result of the policy and the aggressive discourse of the US government against Cuba; the permanent incitement to violence and the hatred of US politicians and anti-Cuban extremist groups.