Cuban officials have taken advantage of the meeting on migration that they held with US counterparts this Wednesday in Washington to claim the neighbor to the north because it granted political asylum to Rubén Martínez Machado, who arrived in Florida with an Antonov plane. last october 21.
In a statement made public by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they refer to the pilot as “the author of the hijacking of a Cuban civil aircraft AN-2” and consider that “impunity for actions of this nature encourages illegal acts with dangerous and negative consequences for air safety and national security of both countries”.
The Cuban regime continues to show, in the midst of the unprecedented migration crisis, special annoyance over this case, and it was already evident last March, when summoned the US charge d’affaires in Havana to transfer his “strong protest”.
Furthermore, the official communications of both countries offer little news, which coincide in informing those who led the meeting: the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, and the deputy undersecretary for the Western Hemisphere of the Department of Security US National, David Cloe.
The note from the State Department Briefer, the US says that these “bilateral dialogues” reflect “the commitment of both countries to regularly review the implementation of the agreements” on migration, signed in 1984, 1994, 1995 and 2017.
The Cuban officials, the text assures, reiterated to their US counterparts the need to restore non-immigrant visa services in Havana
The US delegation, the text continues, highlighted “the areas of successful cooperation on migration, while identifying the issues that have been obstacles to meeting the objectives”, without specifying which ones in either of the two cases. “Participation in these talks underscores our commitment to hold constructive talks with Cuba when appropriate to advance the interests of the United States,” the statement said.
It concludes that “guaranteeing safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration” is a “mutual interest,” as well as “consistent with the interests of the United States to foster family reunification and promote greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” in Cuba”.
He communiqué from the Cuban side, for its part, includes mostly complaints. In addition to the reproach for the granting of asylum to Martínez Machado, he mentions the “concern over the measures to stimulate illegal migration.” The emphasis, once again, is on the US embargo on the island, which as they always call the “blockade” and which, together with the “preferential treatment still received by Cubans who enter US territory illegally and the validity of the Cuban Adjustment Act”, are a “factor that constitutes an important incentive to migration”.
The Cuban officials, the text assures, reiterated to their US counterparts the need to restore non-immigrant visa services at the US Embassy in Havana, since they consider the obligation for Cubans to travel to a third country to obtain “inexplicable”. a visa.
For the rest, despite the complaints, Havana reaffirmed its “willingness” to “give continuity” to the bilateral dialogue on migration.
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