Cuba says its Paris embassy was attacked with gasoline bombs

Venezuelan citizens residing in Colombia during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, outside the Cuban Embassy in Bogota - AFP

The Cuban Embassy in Paris was attacked with gasoline bombs, Cuba's foreign minister said on Monday night.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez did not offer any details of the incident in a post on his Twitter account announcing the attack.

But the Foreign Ministry's International Press Center later said the attack occurred around midnight. It said three Molotov cocktails were thrown, with two hitting the embassy and setting a fire.

Cuban diplomats extinguished the blaze as French firefighters and police arrived at the scene, it said.

In his tweet, Mr Rodriguez put the blame on Washington.

"I hold the US Government responsible for its continuous campaigns against our country that encourage these behaviours and for calls for violence, with impunity, from its territory," Mr Rodriguez said.

Over the past three weeks, Cuban embassies in many cities around the world have been the scene of demonstrations both against and for Cuba's government in reaction to protests that erupted across the island on July 11 and 12.

Cuba has accused the US Government of fomenting a social media campaign aimed at destabilising the Caribbean nation, which is going through a severe economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and US sanctions.