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Trump believes Cuba "responsible" for diplomats' illness but without evidence

(Xinhua)    09:20, October 17, 2017

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said here on Monday that he believed Cuba shall be responsible for the illness of the U.S. diplomats working in that island country.

However, the president did not provide any details or evidences supporting his accusation.

Earlier on October 3, Washington announced it has asked for the departure of 15 Cuban diplomats from the Cuban embassy in Washington in the wake of mysterious "sonic attacks" that led to the recall of more than half of U.S. embassy staff in Havana.

According to the U.S. State Department, the attacks have caused health problems in 22 American diplomats and intelligence personnel.

No details of the injuries have been released, but media reports said the affected Americans suffered a severe hearing loss and at least one victim suffered some "brain damage."

In September, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washington was considering closing down the U.S. embassy in Cuba following the incidents.

"We have it under evaluation and it's a very serious issue with respect to the harm some individuals have suffered," he said. "We've brought some of those people home. It's under review."

Rejecting any responsibilities in the incidents, Cuba said the U.S. withdrawal of its diplomatic personnel is a "hasty decision" that will affect bilateral relations, and its expelling of Cuban diplomats "unacceptable."

In a meeting specially arranged with Tillerson last month to clarify the incident, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the Cuban government has never perpetrated, nor will it allow any third parties to use the Cuban territory to launch alleged acoustic attacks against American diplomats.

Cuba and the United States resumed diplomatic ties in 2015 after 54 years of political enmity, but even before taking office, Trump had promised to reverse what he called a "terrible and misguided deal" with Havana.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)

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