In a statement through Twitter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) assures that the Colombian government took an ‘unfriendly decision’ by expelling the Cuban diplomat in the midst of the protests that started last April 28.

‘The unjustified action intends to divert the attention of the international community and the Colombian society from the violent repression of the military and police forces against the demonstrators that has caused dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded’, Minrex underlines.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry reported this Friday the declaration of Garcia as persona non grata, for alleged ‘activities incompatible with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations’.

Despite these circumstances, Colombia’s purpose is to privilege diplomatic relations and cooperation with Cuba, the ministry added in a message published on Twitter.

For his part, Minrex general director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Eugenio Martínez, reported the Colombian ambassador to Cuba, Juan Manuel Corzo, had been summoned to hand over to him a note of verbal protest following the expulsion of Garcia.

‘We denounce this unfounded decision, which constitutes an unfriendly act and harms the normal functioning of the Cuban Embassy in Colombia’, he wrote.

Martinez insisted that Cuban diplomats fulfill with seriousness and rigor their duties derived from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

He also demanded that the alleged reasons for this decision, which he described as unusual, be explained.

mh/mem/ebr