The Latest: Cuba decries US move to withdraw embassy staff

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. policy on Cuba (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

Cuba says the U.S .decision to reduce staffing at its Havana embassy, to stop issuing visas and to warn Americans against Cuba travel is "precipitous" and will damage bilateral cooperation.

Cuba's head of U.S. affairs is Josefina Vidal. Vidal says Friday's announcement "will particularly affect cooperation in the mutual interest of both countries and the diverse exchanges taking place between Cuba and the U.S."

Since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in 2015, Cuba and the U.S. have been working together in areas including law-enforcement cooperation against drug-trafficking and human smuggling.

Vidal says Cuba wants to continue cooperation with the U.S. to "clear up these incidents."

___

2 p.m.

Sen. Bob Menendez says he told you so. The New Jersey Democrat is praising the Trump administration's decision to withdraw diplomatic staff from the U.S. embassy in Havana, after the Cuban government failed to ensure it could protect them.

Menendez is the son of Cuban immigrants. He says that "Cuba remains as repressive today as ever" and the U.S. shouldn't let Havana's "disregard for basic human security" affect Americans serving abroad.

Menendez has been a leading voice against efforts to improve relations with Cuba. He praised President Donald Trump's rollback of President Barack Obama's plan to re-establish diplomatic relations.

The senator says the U.S. should never have been in a position where it had to trust Cuba's "authoritarian and deceitful regime."

___

1:25 p.m.

A senator says the State Department's decision to withdraw large numbers of its staff from the U.S. embassy in Havana demonstrates just how "untrustworthy and malicious" the Cuban government is.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas also is criticizing former President Barack Obama for seeking to normalize ties between the two former Cold War rivals. The United States and Cuba reopened embassies in Washington and Havana in 2015 after a half-century of estrangement.

Cotton says it was "foolish of Obama to open his arms to such a brutal, Marxist regime."

U.S. diplomats in Havana have suffered hearing loss and speech problems in a series of mysterious "sonic" attacks.

Cotton says the Trump administration should expel accredited Cuban diplomats from the United States.

___

12:30 p.m.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. embassy in Havana will keep only emergency personnel working there until Cuba can ensure the U.S. that its diplomats are safe.

Tillerson says in a statement that the decision to pull out roughly 60 percent of the embassy staff was "to ensure the safety of our personnel."

He says the U.S. continues to have diplomatic relations with Cuba that advance U.S. interests and national security. Tillerson says the U.S. will continue cooperating with Cuba on the investigation.

The secretary says the U.S. has no reports that private American citizens were affected by the attacks. But he says that because the U.S. doesn't know the cause or source of the attacks, it can't advise people on how to protect themselves.

___

12:20 p.m.

The United States has issued an official travel warning that urges American citizens not to visit Cuba.

The State Department's warning says numerous workers at the U.S. Embassy in Havana have been targeted in "specific attacks." The warning says attacks occurred in residences and hotels that Americans frequently visit. The State Department says it believes U.S. citizens may be at risk if they visit, even if they aren't diplomats.

The travel warning says that symptoms experienced by those affected by the attacks include hearing loss, cognitive issues, trouble sleeping, fatigue, headache, dizziness and ear complaints.

The U.S. is also warning citizens that the government will have limited ability to help them if they travel to Cuba. That's because the U.S. is withdrawing most of its diplomats in Cuba in response to the attacks.

___

9:31 a.m.

Senior U.S. officials say the United States is pulling roughly 60 percent of its staff out of Cuba and warning American travelers not to visit due to "specific attacks" that have harmed U.S. diplomats.

The officials say the U.S. is ordering all nonessential staff in the embassy in Havana to leave, along with all family members. Only "emergency personnel" will remain.

The U.S. is also warning American citizens they could be harmed if they travel to Cuba. A State Department travel warning will note that attacks on diplomats have occurred in hotels.

The officials say the U.S. is halting visa processing in Cuba indefinitely. They say the steps will remain until Cuba can assure the U.S. its diplomats are safe.

The officials weren't authorized to comment publicly and demanded anonymity.