Cuban Embassy In US Attacked With 'Molotov Cocktails', Minister Calls It A ''Terrorist Attack''

Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday night by an assailant, Forbes reported. As per the report, Secret Service officers were called around 8 p.m. Sunday to respond to the attack on a busy street in the Adams-Morgan section of the city. Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Cuba's Foreign Minister, called the incident a ''terrorist attack'' on X. 

''The Cuban embassy in the US was the target of a terrorist attack by an individual who launched 2 Molotov cocktails. The staff suffered no harm,” said Mr Rodriguez in a post on social media platform X. 

''This is the second violent attack against Cuba's diplomatic mission in Washington since April 2020. Back then, an individual shot several rounds against the embassy using an assault rifle. The anti-Cuban groups resort to terrorism when feeling they enjoy impunity, something that Cuba has repeatedly warned the U.S. authorities about," he added. 

En la noche de hoy, 24/9, la Embajada de #Cuba en EEUU fue objeto de un ataque terrorista de un individuo que lanzó 2 cocteles molotov. No hubo daños al personal. Se están precisando los detalles.

Es el segundo ataque violento contra la sede diplomática en Washington, ⤵️

— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) September 25, 2023

As per Britannica, the Molotov cocktail, is a crude bomb, typically consisting of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid and a wick that is ignited before throwing. Molotov cocktails take their name from the Russian politician Vyacheslav Molotov, who was the foreign minister of the Soviet Union during World War II.

Also called petrol or bottle bombs or the poor man's grenade, these devices were probably first used during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), as per the South China Morning Post. 

According to AFP,  the Sunday night attack took place hours after Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel returned to Havana after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York and other activities with Cubans in the US.

Currently, no suspects are in custody, and the incident is under investigation by the DC Police and the U.S. State Department.

As per Reuters, the embassy reopened in 2015 when the countries restored diplomatic ties severed since 1961.