Cuba has arrested "several dozen people" accused of involvement in a "conspiracy" allegedly led by the head of the US Interests Section in Havana, Mr James Cason, the government has said.
The Cuban government has imposed travel restrictions on Mr Cason to limit his movements on the communist island, the government said in a statement.
"Several dozen people, tied directly to conspiratorial acts carried out by Mr Cason, have been arrested by the relevant authorities and will be brought to justice," said the statement broadcast on the nightly news.
"Provocations" and "subversive activities" allegedly hatched by Mr Cason during his six months on the island forced the Cuban government to "limit his movements within the national territory, in response to measures taken against our diplomatic personnel in Washington," the statement added.
Mr Elizardo Sanchez, president of the Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which is formally banned but tolerated by Cuban authorities, confirmed that "at least two or three dozen people" had been arrested over the last 12 hours on the island.
"The most intense wave of repression this year is under way right now," the prominent dissident said.
Cuban President Fidel Castro recently called Mr Cason "a bully with diplomatic immunity", arguing that the envoy's behavior was "coarse and insulting".
The Cuban president warned on March 6th that his country could "do perfectly well without" a US interests section in Havana.
AFP