The Department of State accused Cuba of interfering with the work of the top US diplomat on the island

The Department of State accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat. He is Mike Hammer, a career diplomat who currently serves as chargé d'affaires on the island. The agency led by Marco Rubio demanded that Havana end any actions that hinder the normal work of its diplomats.

As part of his diplomatic role, Hammer has met with Cuban political dissidents and representatives of the Catholic Church. The career diplomat previously served as ambassador to Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Last Saturday, the diplomat published a video describing alleged harassment after a meeting with local church leaders. "When I left the parish, some communists, surely frustrated by how badly the revolution was going, shouted obscenities at me," he said. The harassment includes the appearance of groups of people shouting at him and verbally assaulting him.

"The illegitimate Cuban regime must immediately stop its repressive acts of sending individuals to interfere with the diplomatic work of CDA Hammer and members of the US Embassy in Cuba team. Our diplomats will continue to meet with the Cuban people despite the regime's failed intimidation tactics," the Department of State posted on its X account.

The Department of State's warning came days after Secretary Rubio stated that the Trump administration would love to see the Cuban regime fall.

"I think we would like to see the regime there change. That doesn't mean that we're going to make a change, but we would love to see a change. There's no doubt about the fact that it would be of great value, a great benefit to the United States if Cuba was no longer governed by an autocratic regime," he said during a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.