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Cuban diplomats visit Minnesota

By Kim DeFranco

Alejandro García del Toro, Second Ambassador of Cuba, and Tatiana Martinez, Vice

St. Paul – MN – The Twin Cities had the honor of hosting two diplomats from the Cuban Embassy to the United States. Second Ambassador of Cuba Alejandro García del Toro and Vice Consul of Cuba Tatiana Martinez were invited by musician Nachito Herrera and Aurora González to attend Herrera’s concert on September 24.

During their four-day visit, they participated in a reception with Cuba solidarity groups, hosted by the Solidarity Committee on the Americas and the Minnesota Cuba Committee. They learned about the activities of the groups and shared information about today’s Cuba.

They had meetings with city leaders from Minneapolis and Saint Paul, including the mayors. The discussions were about how to strengthen ties between the people of Cuba and the Twin Cities.

In Minneapolis, they met with Minneapolis City Councilmembers Chughtai, Chavez, Wonsley, Jenkins, Ellison and city department heads to discuss possibilities of joint collaboration in the areas of health, public safety and urban agriculture. Toro thanked the city council for calling on Congress to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba and urging President Biden to take Cuba's off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, as well as supporting collaboration between the city and Cuba in the fight against COVID.

In Saint Paul, they received a warm welcome from City Councilmembers Prince, Belanger, Ramsey and County Commissioner Ortega. The diplomats were given a resolution thanking them for coming to the city and re-affirming Saint Paul's commitment to ending the U.S. blockade of Cuba. A wreath was placed at the statue of José Martí that has stood in city hall for a number of years. It was an emotional event for the Cubans to see the statue of Jose Marti in Saint Paul City Hall.

#MinneapolisMN #Cuba #Americas