The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, assured this Friday that for the moment he has only seen the willingness of the United States to dialogue with his country on migration, and not on other issues.
A day after participating in Washington in the first bilateral dialogue on migration in almost four years, Fernández de Cossío said that there is little that distinguishes the Cuba policy of President Joe Biden and that of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
“In practical terms, we have seen almost no differences (between Biden and Trump), in the sense of the impact that US policy is having on the daily lives of the people of Cuba,” the Cuban deputy minister assured in a meeting with journalists.
Fernández de Cossío led the Cuban delegation in the bilateral dialogue on migration issues, which, according to the provisions of the bilateral agreements, must be held twice a year, but which had not taken place since July 2018 “due to a lack of will by the Trump government.” .
Asked if during the conversation this Thursday he saw the will of the United States to advance on other issues of the bilateral relationship, the Cuban diplomat replied that he did not.
The Cuban government accuses the United States of breaching its commitment to issue in Havana “no less than 20,000 annual visas to Cubans” to emigrate to the North American country, as agreed in 2017
“At the moment, the will that we have seen on their part is to dialogue only on migration issues,” stressed Fernández de Cossío.
Thursday’s talks, which were led by Emily Mendrala, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, on the US side, ended without much progress.
Cuba insisted on its accusation that Washington encourages irregular flows to the United States and asked it to comply with the bilateral agreements on migration in its “integrality and not selectively,” according to a statement published this Thursday by the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
The Cuban government accuses the United States of not fulfilling its commitment to issue in Havana “no less than 20,000 annual visas to Cubans” to emigrate to the North American country, as they agreed in 2017.
That year, the United States reduced the staff of its embassy in Havana to a minimum and diverted consular services to third countries, due to the health incidents registered in several diplomatic employees on the island, known as “Havana syndrome” and not yet cleared up.
During his term, Trump ended the thawing policy between the two countries that his predecessor, Barack Obama (2009-2017), had started in 2015, and tightened economic sanctions against Cuba.
Washington denounces that Havana has not accepted any deportation of Cubans since last October
After his arrival at the White House in January 2021, Biden ordered a review of Trump’s policies, but the White House hardened its position towards the Island after the July 11 protests, harshly repressed by the authorities.
Havana has accused Washington of being behind these demonstrations, something that the United States has denied.
On the migration front, the US embassy in Cuba has announced that From May will once again process migrant visas from Havana as part of the “gradual expansion” of consular activity, although in a “limited” manner and without fixed deadlines.
While Cuba reproaches the United States for not fulfilling its commitments regarding visas, Washington denounces that Havana has not accepted no deportation of Cubans since last October through commercial or charter flights from US territory.
The departure of Cubans, mainly to the United States, has increased notably in recent months, something that experts link above all to the serious economic crisis that the island is going through.
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