The Hill, October 1, 2017
Rubio: 'Ridiculous' to think Cuban government didn't know about embassy attacks
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 10/01/17 10:51 AM EDT
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Sunday dismissed the idea that the Cuban government did not know about the attacks on American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Havana.
During an interview on CBS's "Face The Nation," Rubio was asked if there was any evidence the Cuban government was behind the attacks.
Rubio said Cuba is one of the "most tightly controlled and monitored society in the world."
"Anyone who's interacted Cuba, been to Cuba or has anything to do with Cuba understands that very little happens in Havana that the Cuban government doesn't know about, especially Americans working for the State Department," Rubio said.
"So the idea that over 20 Americans working for the State Department, working for the U.S. Embassy could be severely injured in Cuba and the Cuban government not know anything about it is ridiculous."
When asked what should be done in response, Rubio said he agrees with the "drawing down of our personnel."
"I just think it is fair and, and reciprocal for us to require a proportional drawdown of the Cuban Embassy and the Cuban diplomatic presence in the United States," he added.
The U.S. last week ordered about 60 percent of its staff and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Havana to leave amid mysterious health attacks on American diplomats.
The exits will leave just a skeletal staff at the embassy.
The cause of the symptoms remain unknown, and U.S. investigators are looking into the matter.