CHANCERIESTHE DIPLOMATIC ATLAS

Embassy of the Republic of Cuba

Diplomatic history and full roster

Embassy of the Republic of Cuba

2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC

Cuba commissioned this limestone legation on 16th Street. The same building later housed its Interests Section and became an embassy again in 2015.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed1918verified; The Meridian Hill Historic District National Register inventory table assigns 1918 to the Cuban Legation at 2630 16th Street. The narrative also mentions 1916, but its November 1916 citations describe plans and bids rather than completed construction. Construction was completed in 1918.
  1. planning.dc.gov
  2. www.popville.com
Acquired by Cuba1917 (site)documented DC Preservation League / DC Historic Preservation Office, 2025 historic context, p.22: funds approved in 1915 and site purchased two years later. Its completion chronology differs from the Meridian Hill nomination; retain the construction-date uncertainty separately.
  1. dcpreservation.org
  2. planning.dc.gov
NeighborhoodMeridian Hillverified DC tax assessment neighborhood is Mount Pleasant; Meridian Hill is the historic-district/site label.
  1. planning.dc.gov
ArchitectMacNeil & MacNeilverified
  1. planning.dc.gov
Rooms25–45 est.estimated; Editorial estimate from the documented 22,849 sq ft floor area. Assume that 55–65% is enclosed, occupied room area, with an average of 350–500 sq ft per room; round the resulting limits outward to the nearest five rooms. Circulation, parking, stairs and open workstations are not counted as rooms. The allocation and room sizes are assumptions, not measurements from a floor plan. Commercial CAMA inventory does not supply a room count.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Floor area22,800 sq ftverified; DC gross building area
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Site area26,800 sq ftverified; Parcel total: 2575/0843. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
2026 Value$13.1Mverified; Parcel total: 2575/0843. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
Diplomatic use1918verified; The 1918 State Department Register, p. 217, lists both the Cuban minister’s residence and Office of the Legation at 2630 Sixteenth Street. This contemporaneous government directory verifies diplomatic use in 1918 independently of later construction-date summaries.
  1. archive.org

Complete property record

Cuban Ambassador’s Residence

Current address not verified

A separate official residence is documented, but its current address and building have not been established from the available public records.

FactValueBasis and sources
ConstructedNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
Acquired by CubaNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
NeighborhoodNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
ArchitectNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
RoomsNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
Floor areaNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
Site areaNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com
2026 ValueNot Verifiedunverified AP documented a separate official residence outside Washington in April 2022; current identity and parcel remain unverified.
  1. www.wwnytv.com

Complete property record

Historic Moments

Diplomatic ties begin

1902-05-27

Days after the Republic of Cuba is inaugurated, American minister Herbert G. Squiers presents his credentials in Havana, establishing diplomatic relations.

Diplomatic relations break

1961-01-03

The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. Formal embassy ties give way to a long period of estrangement.

The missile crisis

October 1962

Soviet missiles in Cuba bring the United States and the Soviet Union close to war. Public assurances and a private bargain secure their withdrawal.

A channel reopens

1977-09-01

Cuban and American diplomats open interests sections in Washington and Havana. Direct representation resumes under third country protection, while full diplomatic relations remain suspended.

The Mariel boatlift

1980

Boats cross from Florida to Mariel to bring Cubans to the United States. About 125,000 people arrive during an exodus that joins family reunions to a new confrontation between the governments.

The Cuban flag rises again

2015-07-20

The countries restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies. A flag-raising in Washington makes the change visible after more than half a century.

Chiefs of Mission

DiplomatOfficeRecorded serviceStatus
José Ramón Cabañas RodríguezAmbassador2015–2020Former
José Ramón Cabañas RodríguezChief of Interests Section2012–2015Former
Jorge Bolaños SuárezChief of Interests Section2007–2012Former
Dagoberto Rodríguez BarreraChief of Interests Section2001–2007Former
Fernando Remírez de EstenozChief of Interests Section1995–2001Former
Alfonso Fraga PérezChief of Interests Section1992–1995Former
José Antonio Arbesú FragaChief of Interests Section1989–1992Former
Ramón Sánchez-Parodi MontotoChief of Interests Section1977–1989Former
Armando Florez-IbarraChargé d’affaires1961 (documented service)Former
Enrique PattersonChargé d’affaires1960 (documented service)Former
Ernesto DihigoAmbassador1959–1960Former
Nicolás ArroyoAmbassador1958–1959Former
Miguel Ángel de la CampaAmbassador1955–1958Former
Aurelio Fernández ConchesoAmbassador1952–1955Former
Alberto EspinosaChargé d’affaires1952 (documented service)Former
Luis MachadoAmbassador1950–1952Former
Oscar GansAmbassador1949–1950Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1945 (documented service)Former
Guillermo BeltAmbassador1944–1949Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1944 (documented service)Former
Aurelio Fernández ConchesoAmbassador1941–1944Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1940 (documented service)Former
Pedro Martínez FragaAmbassador1937–1940Former
Guillermo Patterson y de JáureguiAmbassador1935–1937Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1934 (documented service)Former
Manuel Márquez SterlingAmbassador1934Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1933 (documented service)Former
Oscar B. CintasAmbassador1932–1933Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1932 (documented service)Former
Orestes FerraraAmbassador1926–1932Former
José T. BarónChargé d’affaires1926 (documented service)Former
Rafael Sánchez-AballíAmbassador1925–1926Former
Arturo Padró y AlmeidaChargé d’affaires1925 (documented service)Former
Arturo Padró y AlmeidaChargé d’affaires1924 (documented service)Former
Cosme de la TorrienteAmbassador1923–1925Former
Arturo Padró y AlmeidaChargé d’affaires1922–1923 (documented service)Former
Carlos Manuel de CéspedesMinister1914–1922Former
Pablo DesvernineMinister1913–1914Former
Antonio Martín-RiveroMinister1911–1913Former
Francisco Carrera JustizMinister1910–1911Former
Carlos García VélezMinister1909–1910Former
Arturo Padró y AlmeidaChargé d’affaires1906 (documented service)Former
Gonzalo de QuesadaMinister1902–1909Former
Lianys Torres RiveraChargé d’affaires2021–PresentCurrent