MIAMI, United States. — The United States Chargé d’Affaires in Cuba, Benjamin Ziff, defined the human rights situation on the island as a priority for Washington within the framework of the new rapprochement that began several months ago with the Havana regime.
In an interview granted to CubaNetthe US diplomat reviewed numerous current issues between the two countries, from the human rights situation in Cuba to the new program of humanitarian parole launched by the Biden administration on January 5.
Ziff made it clear that the US government and the Cuban regime maintain a correct and pragmatic relationship”, and admitted that both countries are trying to resume the path begun by the Barack Obama administration.
“The processes and the dialogues that are taking place now are simply a resumption of what was being done five or six years ago, before the Embassy ceased normal operations. What we see now is nothing new. It is simply a return to communication channels that are very focused on the National Security of the United States and very focused on the rights of the Cuban people.”
In this sense, the diplomat pointed out that Washington has two fundamental priorities: “human rights and the well-being of the Cuban people.”
The Chargé d’Affaires also stressed that the human rights panorama on the Island is negative and described as inadmissible the high number of political prisoners and minors convicted for demonstrating in the protests of July 11 and 12, 2021.
Questioned by this newspaper about the status of consular procedures at the United States Embassy in Cuba, Ziff explained that, for the moment, the diplomatic headquarters is focused on family reunification.
“For the United States government, family reunification is paramount. Reuniting Cuban families in the United States is our priority,” said the Chargé d’Affaires, who acknowledged delays in processing cases due to the temporary closure of the Embassy between 2017 and 2022.
Ziff noted that once those delays are resolved, the US will consider offering other consular services, such as nonimmigrant visa processing.
“These processes involve personnel. We have doubled the number of consuls in the Embassy to process consular matters, from two to five, but an Embassy the size of the one in Havana would have an average of fifteen,” he explained.
The official also referred to the humanitarian parole that will accept the monthly income of 30,000 citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, although he recalled that it “does not involve the US Embassy” in Havana.
