Statement on Cuba Travel Warning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Friday, September 29, the US State Department updated its travel warning to Cuba citing the specific attacks on US Embassy employees in Havana[1]. It has drawn down its embassy staff and services in response to the incidents and to the damage the Embassy sustained during Hurricane Irma earlier this month.

Investigation into the mysterious attacks on US Embassy workers in Havana is ongoing and both US and Cuban authorities are working together to solve it[2]. The United States State Department has already stated that it believes that the Cuban government is not responsible for the attacks on its diplomats.[3]

In 2016, Cuba welcomed four million international visitors[4]. According to the Global Peace Index, an annual ranking of 163 countries developed by the Institute of Economics and Peace and the Economist Intelligence Unit finds that Cuba ranks higher (83) than the United States (103)[5].

It is our position that the US State Department travel warning is premature.

With a reduction in diplomatic staff and resources, the responsibility for continual dialogue and growth of understanding lies heavily with the academic community.

Civitas GES strongly believes that mutual understanding, respect and growth comes from continual dialogue, diplomacy and joint learning. We remain faithful to this mission and we are optimistic that relations between our two nations will improve as our peoples continue to learn more from each other.

[1] US Department of State. (2017, September 29). Cuba Travel Warning. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/cuba-travel-warning.html

[2] Ibid

[3] Goldman, G. H. (2017, September 29). U.S. to Pull More Diplomats Out of Cuba After Attacks. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/us/politics/us-embassy-cuba-attacks.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

[4] Whitefieldmwhitefield@miamiherald.com, M. (n.d.). As Cuban tourism booms, U.S. travel companies wonder: What will Trump do? Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article126181259.html

[5] Humanity, V. O. (n.d.). Global Peace Index – Vision of Humanity. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/