The Dominican Republic ordered nine Cuban diplomats and their families to leave on 13 August without stating a reason1. Havana put the number at ten and criticised President Luis Abinader. Neither government has said what prompted the decision.
Governments that expel diplomats normally name the cause, because the naming is the message: espionage, interference in domestic politics, or a specific bilateral incident. Santo Domingo named nothing. That silence leaves Havana free to supply its own account of the affair and leaves the Dominican public without one. The two capitals are also counting differently, nine against ten, which ordinarily means one figure includes accompanying family and the other counts only accredited staff.
Washington has spent the summer pressing third countries on Cuban business, warning Panamanian banks about sanctions evasion in July. A Caribbean neighbour cutting Havana's diplomatic presence sits in that weather, whether or not it was prompted by it, and Cuba has one fewer mission in the region from which to work.
