The U.S. mission in Cuba on Saturday called on the island's communist government to use diplomatic channels rather than news conferences to criticize American officials.
The U.S. government will not respond to Cuban charges that its top diplomat funneled money to dissidents on the island until Cuba files a formal complaint, according to a statement from the U.S. Interests Section, America's de facto embassy in Havana.
Cuba has released e-mails, letters, videos and audio tapes it claims prove that Michael Parmly, America's top diplomat in Havana, carried funds to activist Martha Beatriz Roque, who allegedly passed them on to other dissidents.
Parmly has declined to comment on the charges, despite demands by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
The United States acknowledges it provides "humanitarian assistance" to dissidents in Cuba, but has not said specifically whether Parmly hand-carried cash from a Miami-based group that the communist government calls a terrorist organization.
