Hammer is accused of using diplomatic immunity “as cover for acts contrary to the sovereignty and internal order of the country.”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2025 — The Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Mike Hammer, received a verbal note from the Cuban Foreign Ministry on Friday accusing him of inciting Cubans to commit serious crimes against the state. The diplomat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his “interventionist and unfriendly behavior,” as the regime describes his extensive schedule of visits to opponents and entrepreneurs.
In statements to Martí Noticias, a U.S. State Department official backed the diplomat’s actions: “Chief of Mission Mike Hammer and the U.S. Embassy proudly represent President Trump implementing an ’America First’ foreign policy and holding the Cuban regime accountable for its malign influence in the Americas.”
“We will continue to meet with Cuban patriots, religious leaders, and those fighting for Cuban freedoms,” the State Department added, emphasizing that the regime’s “corrupt, inept, and failed” policies are causing unrest among Cubans.
Alejandro García del Toro, a diplomat in Washington for several years and now director of bilateral affairs with the US, was in charge of reading Hammer the riot act “once again.” The Foreign Ministry argues that the US representative has violated the Vienna Convention and the Agreement on the Restoration of Diplomatic Relations signed between Havana and Washington.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry stated that the conversation was “emphatic” and that Hammer was accused of “inciting Cuban citizens to commit serious criminal acts, attacking the constitutional order or encouraging them to act against the authorities, and demonstrating in support of the interests and objectives of a hostile foreign power.”
García del Toro told the US representative that he could not use diplomatic immunity “as cover for acts contrary to the sovereignty and internal order of the country” and could not sustain “provocative and irresponsible behavior.”
He also criticized Hammer’s allusions to José Martí, which the Foreign Ministry considers a sign of “public and insulting manipulation.” In a video of his visit to the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba on May 19—the anniversary of the hero’s death in combat—the diplomat referred to Martí as “the Apostle of the homeland.”
Hammer quoted a phrase that the regime finds problematic: “Respect for the freedom and thoughts of others, even those among the most unhappy, is in me fanaticism. If I die or am killed, it will be for that.” The verbal note asserts that the diplomat is unaware, in quoting this thought, of Martí’s “anti-imperialism” and emphasized—with arguments valid in the 19th century, but in no way applicable to the current situation—that the US is a “danger” to the island.
As a kind of symbolic counterattack, García del Toro gave Hammer a copy of Martí’s unfinished letter to Manuel Mercado, cited countless times to justify Fidel Castro’s hostile stance toward Washington.
Since his arrival in Cuba, Hammer has been a stone in the shoe of the Foreign Ministry.
Since his arrival in Cuba, Hammer has been a a stone in the shoe of the Foreign Ministry. Untouchable due to his position, affable in his dealings with the country’s inhabitants—opponents, but also entrepreneurs and all kinds of Cubans—and accurate in his assessments of the crisis on the island, the diplomat’s popularity on the streets is directly proportional to the regime’s animosity.
Last week, Hammer held a press conference in Miami in which he made clear the US position on Cuba and, furthermore, his willingness to support the Cuban people. One of his statements that most resonated in Havana was this: “The Administration is determined to sanction the repressors. There will be consequences for their actions, and I cannot anticipate further measures that will come, but they will come, I can assure you of that.”
Knowing that State Security is following him wherever he goes, he took the situation with humor. “Obviously there’s a lot of traffic; you see Ladas everywhere. If we turn right, they turn right. I don’t like going left, but hey, if we go left, they go with us. They’re constantly filming me.”
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