MIAMI, United States. – As planned, officials from the United States and the Cuban regime met this Thursday in Washington DC to discuss the implementation of the Migration Agreements between the northern nation and the Island, the State Department confirmed in a press release.
The meeting, which is the first to address migration issues since 2018, was headed, on the one hand, by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Emily Mendrala; and, on the other, by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío.
According to the State Department, “these bilateral discussions on migration are generally held every six months, reflecting the commitment of both countries to periodically review the implementation of the Migration Agreements.”
The governments of the United States and Cuba have adopted bilateral agreements on migration in 1984, 1994, 1995 and 2017, according to the State Department itself.
This Thursday, “the US delegation highlighted areas of successful cooperation on migration, while identifying problems that have been obstacles to meeting the objectives of the Agreements.”
However, the press release does not specify what are the “obstacles” that have affected compliance with the agreements.
The United States, for its part, assured that participating in these talks underscores its “commitment to engage in constructive talks with the Government of Cuba when appropriate to promote US interests.”
The US delegation also referred to the partial resumption of consular services restarted in Havana for applicants for immigrant visas and the issuance of emergency visas for non-immigrants.
“Enabling safe, legal, and orderly migration between Cuba and the United States remains in the mutual interest of both countries and is consistent with United States interests in fostering family reunification and promoting greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba. Cuba”, concludes the note from the State Department.
For its part, the Cuban regime, which had announced the round of talks in advance, has not yet published any details about the meeting.
This Wednesday, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said that the Biden Administration would explore the possibility of resuming the migratory agreements with Cuba. “I am not going to anticipate the dialogue, but we have had migratory agreements with Cuba for many years. These are discontinued and we are going to explore the possibility of reactivating them,” the official said, according to the agency. AFP.
Since its announcement, the meeting between authorities from both countries generated criticism from a large sector of exile. Republican congressmen for the state of Florida María Elvira Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez asked the Biden Administration to reconsider the round of migration negotiations.
“We write to express our grave concern regarding the Biden Administration’s announced plans to host talks on migration in Washington, DC with the totalitarian and terrorist state in Cuba,” the representatives said in a statement. letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
For Salazar, Díaz-Balart and Giménez, the negotiations with Havana offer credibility to a regime that has violently repressed the civilian population and that “imprisoned hundreds of people, including children, for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression.” .
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