The government said it made the move in retaliation against American telephone companies not paying taxes levied by the regime of dictator Fidel Castro.
A statement from Cuba's Council of State, broadcast early Friday morning by state-run radio and television stations, said the phone service would be suspended on Dec. 15.
In October, the Castro regime slapped a 10 percent tax on the cost of telephone calls between the United States and Cuba in retaliation against legislation that would let the U.S. use frozen Cuban assets. The government decree said ETECSA, Cuba's national telephone company, was to retain the tax revenues, which were charged on every minute of all telephone calls between the U.S. and Cuba.
Cuba's phone tax followed a decision by the Clinton administration to compensate the families of those who were killed in the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue incident in the Florida Straits by using frozen Cuban funds.
The Cuban exile group flew planes toward Cuba and wound up in an altercation with Cuban Air Force MIGs. Several members of the group were killed.
The Cuban American National Foundation said the action shows Castro's true self, and CANF Vice President Dennis Hays called the surtax illegal.
"As an organization, we fully support any and all communications with the Cuban people that are free from Castro's manipulation for either undue profit or political benefit," said Hays. "But this is blackmail by a criminal conspiracy and to go along with it will only invite more outrageous demands in the future."
The action comes as the United States and Cuba begin new talks in Havana on illegal immigration. Those discussions are scheduled to begin on Monday.
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