Havana: The United States and Cuba are trying to eliminate obstacles to normalised ties as the highest-level US delegation to the communist island in more than three decades holds a second day of talks with Cuban officials.
US objectives during today’s session include the lifting of restrictions on American diplomats in Cuba and assurances that Cubans will have unfettered access to a future US Embassy in Havana. The Americans say the resumption in full diplomatic relations depends on how quickly its requests are met. Cuba is demanding its removal from a US list of state sponsors of terrorism, which Washington says it is considering.
Yesterday the US said it dispatched additional ships to the Florida Straits to halt Cuban rafters but rebuffed demands for broader changes to US migration rules that grant virtually automatic legal residency to any Cuban who touches US soil.
Cuba’s government blames the Cold War policy for luring tens of thousands of Cubans a year to make perilous journeys by land and sea to try to reach the United States. Still, many Cubans are worried the elimination of the rules would take away their chance to have a better life in the US.
In Washington, US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said America’s “wet foot, dry foot” approach, which generally shields Cubans from deportation if they reach US territory, remains in effect. But he stressed that those trying to come illegally would most likely be interdicted and returned.
US officials reported a spike in the number of rafters attempting to reach Florida after the Dec 17 announcement that the countries would move to normalise ties. Those numbers appear to have slowed in recent days.
“Cuba wants a normal relationship with the U.S., in the broadest sense but also in the area of migration,” said Cuba’s head of North American affairs, Josefina Vidal. She called for the US to end “exceptional treatment that no other citizens in the world receive, causing an irregular situation in the flow of migrants.”
American officials instead pressed Cuba to take back tens of thousands of its nationals whom US authorities want to deport because they have been convicted of crimes. No progress was made on that issue, according to an official present in the meeting. The official wasn’t authorised to speak on the matter and demanded anonymity.
