Embassy of the United States, Havana

Embassy of the United States, Havana
Native name
Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América, La Habana (Spanish)

Chancery Building as seen during President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba. This used to be the US Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, Cuba. Between 1977 and 2015, Switzerland was the protecting power of the United States in Cuba.
LocationVedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba
Coordinates23°08′45″N 82°23′16″W / 23.14587°N 82.38765°W / 23.14587; -82.38765
Embassy of the United States, Havana is located in Cuba
Embassy of the United States, Havana
Location of Embassy of the United States, Havana in Cuba

The Embassy of the United States of America in Havana (Spanish: Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América, La Habana) is the United States of America's diplomatic mission in Cuba. On January 3, 1961, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower severed relations following the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s.[1] In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Cuban leader Fidel Castro signed an Interests Sections Agreement that permitted each government to operate from its former embassy in Havana and Washington D.C., which were called Interests Sections; they were prohibited from flying their respective flags. Cuban President Raúl Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama restored full diplomatic connections on July 20, 2015.[2][3][4]

The building housed the United States Interests Section in Havana between 1977 and 2015, which operated under the auspices of the Swiss Embassy (acting as protecting power). On July 1, 2015, it was announced that with the resumption of diplomatic ties, the building resumed its role as the U.S. Embassy in Cuba on July 20, 2015.[5][6][7][8]

After the emergence of Havana syndrome in 2017, the United States withdrew most of the personnel from the embassy, so by July 2018 only 10 American diplomats were left to maintain the diplomatic service.[9] The reduction of staffing also resulted in declining availability of embassy services. The Biden Administration plans on expanding staff at the embassy to resume full scale processing of immigrant visa services beginning in early 2023.[10] The embassy is led by Chargé d'Affaires Benjamin G. Ziff.[11]


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  1. ^ United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba Archived July 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine History.
  2. ^ "Obama moves to restored diplomatic relations at the embassy level on 2014. with Cuba". MSNBC. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015.
  3. ^ "Obama opens doors to Cuba after 56 years". USA Today. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015.
  4. ^ "U.S., Cuba restore ties after 50 years". Reuters. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  5. ^ "U.S. and Cuba to announce embassy openings". CNN. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "U.S. and Cuba to reopen embassies". Politico. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "US proposes US, Cuba reopen embassies as of July 20: Havana". Business Insider. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  8. ^ "Cuban flag flies at embassy in Washington". USA Today. July 20, 2015. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
  9. ^ Delk, Josh (April 7, 2018). "Only 10 diplomatic staff left at US Embassy in Cuba". The Hill. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "U.S. adding embassy staff in Havana to 'resume full immigrant visa processing'". Miami Herald. September 21, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  11. ^ "Chargé d'Affaires Benjamin G. Ziff". US Embassy in Cuba. Retrieved August 15, 2022.