site: vedado, havana, cuba
The United States Interests Section in Havana
The United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, Cuba or USINT Havana (the State Department telegraphic address) represents America in Cuba. It is staffed by United States Foreign Service personnel and local staff employed by the US Department of State. USINT Havana and its counterpart, the Interests Section of the Republic of Cuba in Washington, are formally sections of the respective Embassies of Switzerland and Czechoslovak Republic, although they operate independently of the Swiss in virtually all but protocol respects. The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations, but their respective Interests Sections function as de facto embassies.
The US Interests Section in Havana built by Harrison & Abramovitz in 1953.
Propaganda Battles with the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Plaza
The USINT site has long been a propagandistic battleground between Cuba and the US. During the Elián González case, the area to the east of USINT was paved and a stage was built. It is known as the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Plaza. While originally used for rallies and protest meeting, particularly those protesting against actions by the US government, this stage has also been used for concerts. In January 2006, USINT began displaying messages on a scrolling electronic billboard in the windows of their top floor. Messages include the George Burns quotation, “How sad that all the people who would know how to run this country are driving taxis or cutting hair.” Following a protest march, the Cuban government erected a large number of poles, carrying black flags with single white stars, obscuring the messages. Also during 2006, the Cuban billboards began carrying images of President Bush and Luis Posada Carriles as vampires and axe-murderers.
A billboard seen facing the US Interests Section in Feb. 2007, showing George W. Bush as "The Assassin".
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