US Interests Section in Havana

Chief of Mission of United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, Cuba
Seal of the United States Department of State
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Lyle Franklin Lane
Formation	1977
Final holder	Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Abolished	2015
Succession	Embassy of the United States, Havana

The United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, Cuba or USINT Havana (the State Department telegraphic address) represented United States interests in Cuba from September 1, 1977, to July 20, 2015. It was staffed by United States Foreign Service personnel and local staff employed by the US Department of State, and located in a multi-story office building on the Malecón across from the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana. The mission resumed its role as the Embassy of the United States in Cuba on July 20, 2015, following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

USINT Havana and its counterpart, the Interests Section of the Republic of Cuba in Washington, were formally sections of the respective Embassies of Switzerland, although they operated independently of the Swiss in virtually all but respects. During this period, the United States and Cuba did not operate embassies in each other's countries, and their respective Interests Sections functioned as de facto embassies.The last Section Chief of USINT Havana was Jeffrey DeLaurentis, who served from August 2014 to its termination in 2015. He subsequently became Chargé d'affaires of the embassy.

The US broke diplomatic relations with Cuba on January 3, 1961, formally due to a disagreement about staffing levels at the respective embassies. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated at the time, "There is a limit to what the United States in self-respect can endure. That limit has now been reached". Protective powers were appointed to represent each country in the capital of the other. The US was represented by Switzerland in Havana, and the Cubans by Czechoslovakia in Washington. These offices, sections of the respective embassies, were staffed by Swiss and Czechoslovak diplomats.