Havana, August 27 (RHC)-- The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) has rejected in the strongest terms the accusations of alleged interference by this Caribbean nation in the local electoral campaigns of the state of Florida, in the United States.

Through a statement published on its website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs detailed that articles in The Miami Herald newspaper and others from the McClatchy press organization, to which the newspaper belongs, began a new slanderous campaign against the island at the end of July.

The text specifies that these media hide behind supposed anonymous intelligence sources, a common practice that the journalistic organization and its editors are accustomed to when lies are the basis of the report.

"The accusation is that Cuba is making efforts to influence local electoral campaigns in the state of Florida in the United States," the Minrex stressed.

The Foreign Ministry also deplored the fact that the U.S. government, its State Department and its intelligence agencies have not disqualified the direct reference to alleged government agencies on whose authority these slanderous articles appear to rest.

"The U.S. government cannot cite any evidence or indication, because it does not exist, that Cuba has interfered or has intended to interfere in its electoral processes, or that it is favoring any politician from the state of Florida or another state in that country," the statement stressed.

The statement also stated that "if it were not an absolutely unfounded accusation on such a serious issue, the statement would cause astonishment, since it could be interpreted that the U.S. government has made a 180-degree turn and for the first time in more than a century considers it inappropriate to interfere in the electoral processes of other countries."

The Ministry noted that it is not clear in any of the articles whether "the government intends to abandon a practice that is as illegitimate as it is unacceptable and which has been a part of U.S. foreign policy for so long."  (Source: PL)