Havana, May 7 (RHC)-- The Cuban Foreign Ministry (MINREX) has called unjustified and unfriendly the expulsion of the first secretary of its embassy in Colombia, Omar Rafael Garcia, who was declared persona non grata by Bogota.

On Twitter, MINREX assured that the Colombian government took an 'unfriendly decision' by expelling the Cuban diplomat amid the protests that started last April 28.

'The unjustified action intends to divert the international community's attention and the Colombian society from the violent repression of the military and police forces against the demonstrators that have caused dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded, the Foreign Ministry stated in another Tweet.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry declared Garcia persona non grata for alleged 'activities incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provisions.

Despite these circumstances, Colombia's purpose is to privilege diplomatic relations and cooperation with Cuba, the ministry added in a message published on Twitter.

The general director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Cuban Foreign Ministry,  Eugenio Martínez, reported the Colombian ambassador to Cuba, Juan Manuel Corzo, had been summoned to hand over to him a note of verbal protest following Garcia's expulsion.

'We denounce this unfounded decision, which constitutes an unfriendly act and harms the normal functioning of the Cuban Embassy in Colombia', he wrote.

Martinez insisted that Cuban diplomats fulfill with seriousness and rigor their duties derived from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

He also demanded that the alleged reasons for this decision, which he described as unusual, be explained.