Cuba summons top US diplomat to protest extra screening for air travelers from the island
By APTuesday, January 5, 2010
Cuba protests US screening of airline passengers
HAVANA — Cuba has summoned the top U.S. diplomat on the island to protest extra screening for Cuban citizens flying into the United States.
A top official at Cuba’s foreign ministry says Jonathan Farrar was given a formal protest over the security measures, implemented after an apparent attempt to blow up a jetliner as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day.
The United States has demanded more careful screening for citizens of 14 nations deemed security risks — including Cuba — and for people traveling from those countries.
Josefina Vidal Ferreiro told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Cuba “categorically rejects this hostile action.”
She said Cuba’s top diplomat in Washington delivered a similar complaint at the State Department.
