Washington. Cuba and the United States resumed yesterday in Washington negotiations on migration interrupted since 2018; first high-level bilateral meeting with the Biden administration.
The talks are “fully focused” on the increase in migration from Cuba, by land and by sea, said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
According to the United States Customs office, from October 2021 to March 2022, more than 78,000 Cubans entered the country through the border with Mexico, that is, double the number who left the island during the so-called “rafter crisis.” , in 1994.
A massive emigration from the island, which coincides with its worst economic crisis in almost three decades.
“Our broader policy is based on supporting the Cuban people, supporting their democratic aspirations. There’s an immigration element to that, there’s an element of family reunification to that, but these conversations are conversations about migration,” Price said.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío traveled to Washington to meet with Emily Mendrala, in charge of Cuba at the State Department.
Havana has accused Washington of pressuring Latin American governments to require a transit visa for Cubans who stop at its airports and of failing to comply with the migration agreement to grant 20,000 annual visas to Cubans.