Kenya links the closure of its mission in Havana to U.S. sanctions

The Kenyan government attributed the closure of its representation in Havana and the transfer of its diplomatic activities to Jamaica to the difficulties that, according to its Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing'oei, the United States sanctions generated for the operation of the mission. Sing'oei explained that reason in a bilateral conversation with Christopher Sinckler, Chief Foreign Minister of Barbados, held in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, during the summit of Commonwealth heads of government. Whole? The official described the change as a temporary measure aimed at providing operational relief to Kenyan personnel working in Cuba. Whole? Won't include direct quote.

Prior to that explanation, Nairobi had presented the reorganization as part of a plan to expand its presence in the Caribbean and strengthen relations in the region. When launching its first High Commission resident in Kingston in July, the Foreign Ministry had described the change from Havana as a smooth transition. The sanctions, meanwhile, have caused difficulties for financial operations, particularly in links with international banks and in access to goods and services.

The Kenyan mission in Havana opened in 2016 and was the first permanent diplomatic representation of the African country in the Caribbean; its closure, announced in August, ended a decade of presence in Cuba. Ambassador Karisa Mwenda, stationed on the island, took over as Kenya's first resident representative in Jamaica and maintained concurrent accreditation to Cuba. Havana will keep its embassy in Nairobi. Kenya, in addition, has repeatedly questioned U.S. measures against Cuba at the United Nations. United Nations?

Speaking before the UN General Assembly, Kenya's Deputy Permanent Representative, Yabesh Monari, argued that the embargo and unilateral sanctions harm the civilian population. The next day, the country backed a Cuban resolution calling for an end to the embargo, despite the decision to move its embassy operations. The diplomatic reshuffle, therefore, did not prevent Nairobi from maintaining its public opposition to the sanctions. Inference; omit or replace with supported separate fact?

Cuba and Kenya also maintain ties of health cooperation, with Cuban doctors who have worked in Kenyan health centers and Kenyan professionals who have been trained on the island. In 2018, a group of a hundred Cuban doctors arrived in Kenya, including surgeon Landy Rodríguez Hernández and specialist Assel Herrera Correa, kidnapped on April 12, 2019 in Mandera, near the border with Somalia. The authorities of both countries attributed the kidnapping to Al Shabab, while in February 2024 that organization claimed that the two doctors had died in a U.S. bombing in Somalia, a version that Havana could not confirm.

Cooperation continued after that episode: in 2022, the two governments agreed to renew it and, in September 2023, William Ruto met with Miguel Díaz-Canel in New York and highlighted the contribution of Cuban aid to Kenya's development. That same year, Nairobi decided not to renew the agreement to hire Cuban doctors, although health collaboration continued through other channels, according to published information. In June 2025, the Kenyan Ministry of Health reported that both governments were considering extending the joint work to research, biotechnology and pharmaceutical production.