{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["cuba-53c2873564b304"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":["florez-break","florez-fbi"],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/armando-florez-ibarra-aa617cb89d/","countrySlug":"cuba","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/armando-florez-ibarra-aa617cb89d/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Armando Florez-Ibarra was the Cuban chargé d’affaires who received the American notification breaking diplomatic and consular relations on January 3, 1961. Edwin Vallon summoned him to the State Department after President Dwight Eisenhower decided to end relations in response to Havana’s demand for a drastic reduction in American embassy personnel.","Florez-Ibarra subsequently represented Cuba in Czechoslovakia. He was married to the pianist Ivette Hernández. In 1968, while travelling abroad with their family, the couple decided not to return to Cuba and spent time in Spain. He ultimately settled in the United States and became an American citizen in 1979.","He died in October 2013. His son Sergio’s effort to obtain government records about his diplomatic career led to a federal freedom of information case. In 2016, an appeals court sent the case back for consideration of newly released FBI documents. The decision established the relevance of those disclosures; it did not establish that Florez-Ibarra had worked for the CIA."],"id":"cuba:armando florez-ibarra","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-aa617cb89d46ce2e119d.html","name":"Armando Florez-Ibarra","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["florez-break"],["florez-fbi","florez-ivette","florez-court"],["florez-court"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-aa617cb89d46ce2e119d.html","relatedEvents":[{"basis":"reviewed-context","country":"Cuba","date":"1961-01-03","description":"The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. Formal embassy ties give way to a long period of estrangement.","id":"cuba-break","note":"The roster identifies Florez-Ibarra as the chargé who received the note on 3 January 1961; Patterson’s isolated 1960 service is not extended into 1961.","sourceUrls":["https://history.state.gov/countries/cuba"],"title":"Diplomatic relations break","url":"Cuba.html#history-cuba-break"}],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"eef1b4c2cd6af11f","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2015-07-07","id":"florez-break","locator":"David Langbart article, RG59 memorandum and telegram descriptions","publisher":"U.S. National Archives","title":"The End of the Beginning: The United States Breaks Relations with Cuba,1961","type":"archival-record","url":"https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2015/07/07/the-end-of-the-beginning-cuba/"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":null,"id":"florez-fbi","locator":"Armando Florez Ibarra entry","publisher":"Federal Bureau of Investigation","title":"Armando Florez Ibarra: FBI Vault collection description","type":"archival-record","url":"https://vault.fbi.gov/alphabetical-listing-collection?b_start%3Aint=120"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2021-06-02","id":"florez-ivette","locator":"Ernesto Hernández Busto obituary, marriage and1968travel paragraphs","publisher":"CiberCuba","title":"Fallece en Nueva York la laureada pianista cubana Ivette Hernández","type":"contemporary-report","url":"https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2021-06-02-u200807-e200807-s27061-fallece-nueva-york-laureada-pianista-cubana-ivette"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2016-07-14","id":"florez-court","locator":"Pages2–6,15–17","publisher":"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit","title":"Florez v. CIA, No.15-1055-cv","type":"primary-record","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca2-15-01055/pdf/USCOURTS-ca2-15-01055-0.pdf"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2015-09-16 (page date; table includes 17 September)","id":"mission-3c90b64cdbf56789616d","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Diplomatic Representation for the Republic of Cuba","type":"Mission record","url":"https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/91599.htm"}],"topics":["1961 diplomatic rupture","Czechoslovakia","exile","archival access"]},"schemaVersion":1}