MIAMI, United States.- The United States consulate in Cuba began issuing visas this Tuesday, after four years of closure due to the so-called “Havana Syndrome,” according to the AFP news agency. “Welcome to the embassy -of the United States- after so long!”, Said a Cuban employee of the consulate to the group of people who were waiting for their consular appointment, reads the note.
According to the AFP note, the employee said that for this Tuesday only a few citations were delivered, since the reopening of the consulate will take place in a “limited” and “gradual” manner, as announced. last March 3 by Timothy Zúñiga-Brown, chargé d’affaires of the US embassy.
“Hopefully this all works out. I have been waiting for three years to be reunited with my daughter, who is claiming me. I haven’t seen her for seven years,” a man on condition of anonymity told the news agency.
The US consulate in Havana closed in September 2017, after the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021) denounced several incidents, at the time described as sonic attacks, that affected the health of US diplomats.
Since then, Cubans have had to carry out visa procedures for the United States in third countries such as Colombia and Guyana.
The reopening of the consulate in Cuba takes place after a meeting between Washington and Havana last April, in which both governments spoke about migration, and the crisis that has been generated in recent months on the borders of the United States. The Cuban regime claims the 20,000 annual visas that Washington is committed to granting, assures AFP.
Thousands of Cubans have sought to emigrate in recent months. The economic situation of the island, aggravated by an unprecedented repression since July 11, 2021, has unleashed an exodus only compared to that of Mariel, in 1980.
According to figures from the United States Customs office, from October 2021 to March 2022, more than 78,000 Cubans entered through the border with Mexico.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
