Havana Cuba. – Various opponents and independent journalists stated in an interview with CubaNet how “positive” it would be if the United States considered resuming the Cuban refugee admission program that was halted in 2018.
“I am one of those who supports and promotes that the political refugee program must be reopened because, in reality, nobody knows what will happen in the future in this country; Nobody knows if the repression will continue to intensify. they will continue political prisoners while the communist regime is in Cuba, and the way for many of them to go into exile is through that program,” said Ángel Moya, a former political prisoner of the group of 75.
The aforementioned program was stopped in 2018 after the then president of the United States, Donald Trump, reduced the staff of his embassy in Havana to a minimum due to the alleged “sonic attacks” that affected US diplomats on the island. The measure stopped all services at the diplomatic headquarters.
“It does not look good that human rights activists, due to persecution and harassment by State Security, have to leave the country in a boat, on a raft or through the Central American route to reach the border of United States and cross illegally, or wait to apply to the refugee program at the border,” Moya insisted.
After the announcement of the free visa to Nicaragua that benefited Cubans, various activists and independent journalists used the Central American country as a springboard to flee the repression of the island’s regime and reach US territory.
“The cruelty of the regime is known, how it harasses not only activists and opponents but also their families; That is why it is so important that we all have a way out (…). Leaving the Island can really become hell under all the pressure of the regime, ”he explained to CubaNet opponent Antonio Rodiles, a member of sats status.
Likewise, opponent Manuel Cuesta Morúa stated that reopening this program “would be in line with the policy of the United States, which has always stood out in the international arena for supporting human rights in Cuba, sometimes even against the indifference of many democracies in the world that do not have programs of this nature and that always try to lend a helping hand to the Cuban government”.
In January 2023, after being detained for more than five years, the United States Embassy in Cuba resumed its consular services and visa processing; however, the political refugee program is still suspended, with no reopening date.
The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Cuba, Benjamin Ziff, assured in interview with CyberCuba that for now there is no reopening date for the political refugee program.
