Havana, February 23 (RHC)-- The Cuban Foreign Ministry (MINREX) has confirmed the failure of the latest provocation orchestrated against our country by right-wing organizations and individuals.

A statement issued by MINREX on Wednesday refers to news reports in the mainstream media, echoing the expressed intentions of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Almagro to travel to Havana to receive a so-called distinction fabricated by an anti-Cuba group, which operates inside the country in conspiracy with the ultra right-wing Foundation for Pan-America Democracy.

The text explains that the plot consisted of mounting an open, serious provocation against the Cuban government to try to destabilize the country, damage its international image and hamper Cuba's diplomatic relations with other states.

The statement notes the involvement in this latest anti-Cuba provocation of the OAS head, and other right-wing individuals, who are members of the so-called Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA, for its acronym in Spanish), which over the past several years has launched attacks against Venezuela and other countries led by progressive governments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

MINREX further noted that the anti-Cuba maneuver had the backing also of other right-wing groups. It mentions the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which uses US taxpayer funds to carry out subversive actions against Cuba, and the Inter-American Institute for Democracy, headed by Carlos Alberto Montaner, a CIA agent and notorious terrorist of Cuban origin.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry said that upon learning about this latest plot against our country and based on the country's laws and principles of sovereignty, the Cuban government decided to deny entry to Cuba for the foreign nationals involved.