Four in Havana Leave Embassy, Return Home
Four young Cubans who had taken refuge at the Italian ambassador’s residence in Havana have given up and returned home, Cuban state television and the Italian government said Saturday.
Eighteen other Cubans wishing to leave the country remained sheltered at the Spanish Embassy, the only foreign mission still harboring refugees since a rash of asylum bids began July 9.
State television said the four, two men and two women, left the residence in Havana’s Miramar diplomatic district “voluntarily and unconditionally” Friday night and were being returned to their homes. They entered the building July 17.
A statement by the Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome said the four decided Friday evening to leave of their own accord after receiving assurances that the Cuban authorities would not take reprisals.
Italian diplomats identified them as Ramon Gonzalez Garcia, 19, Jeannette Gonzalez Garcia, 25, Idalmys Guerra Esquivel, 25, and Ramiro Alcalde Simon, 19.
They gave up their asylum bid following a speech by Cuban President Fidel Castro Thursday night in which he insisted that any Cubans who entered embassies by force would not be allowed to leave the country.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
