The Dominican Republic has ordered nine members of Cuba’s diplomatic mission to leave the country, deepening tensions between the Caribbean neighbours.

The Dominican Foreign Ministry said the diplomats and their families had been given seven days to depart. It did not identify the officials or explain what prompted the decision.

“The Dominican government formally requested the Cuban embassy in the country to withdraw nine members of its diplomatic mission and their families,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the measure was consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the international agreement governing diplomatic relations between countries.

Cuba condemned the move and accused the Dominican government of acting at the behest of the U.S.

“There is no explanation for this action other than the Dominican Republic yielding to pressure from the United States,” Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Dominican Republic is led by President Luis Abinader, a centre-right politician whose government maintains close ties with Washington. The U.S. has stepped up pressure on Cuba’s communist government.

The diplomatic dispute coincided with commemorations in Cuba and elsewhere marking the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who ruled the island for decades and died in 2016.

On August 13, amid the tensions, Cuban Ambassador Ángel Arzuaga attended a ceremony at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo commemorating Castro’s centenary.

Arzuaga made no explicit reference in his remarks to the Dominican Republic’s demand that the Cuban diplomats leave. Instead, he spoke about Cuba’s resolve in difficult circumstances and its commitment to solidarity with other countries.

“The more difficult the circumstances, the more we unite. The more difficult the circumstances, the more we fight. The more difficult the circumstances, the more we will be on the front lines defending peace, unity, friendship, and the internationalism of the peoples of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the world,” he said.

Arzuaga later said Dominican authorities had not warned him in advance that members of the mission and their families would be asked to leave.

The latest dispute follows earlier friction over the Dominican Republic’s handling of a regional summit.

In December, the Dominican government excluded Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from a summit scheduled to take place in the resort of Punta Cana. The decision drew objections from governments including Mexico and Colombia.

The Dominican Republic subsequently postponed the meeting until later in 2026.

The expulsions mark a further escalation in Cuba’s relations with governments aligned with Washington, as the U.S. intensifies pressure on Havana and seeks greater regional support for its approach.

Any widening diplomatic confrontation could also have implications elsewhere in the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands. For smaller Caribbean jurisdictions, the dispute underscores the potential for renewed U.S.-Cuba tensions to extend beyond the two countries and shape political and economic calculations across the region.