US and Cuban representatives met Thursday in Washington to discuss migration as the United States tries to control the growing number of people trying to cross its southern border, including a growing number of Cubans.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the talks, the highest-level formal contact with Havana since President Joe Biden took office last year, were “directly focused on migration.”
We have seen a significant increase in irregular migration by Cuban migrants arriving in the United States, which includes both land and sea routes,” Price said.
Emily MendralaWashington’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, led a US delegation to the talks and Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister, Carlos Fernandez deCossioled the Cuban delegation, the State Department said.
The talks focused on ways to address the illegal immigrationchanges in migration trends, deportations and the functions of embassies, Price added.
The tensions between Washington Y Havana on the repression of protests by the Cuban government, US sanctions on the island and other issues have made cooperation between the countries difficult on challenges such as immigration.
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