By Matt Spetalnick and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) – U.S. and Cuban officials discussed immigration issues on Wednesday as the Biden administration prepares for the end of COVID-era border restrictions that have blocked Cubans in recent months from crossing into the United States. United from Mexico.
The high-level meeting in Washington followed one in Havana in November and comes a year after US President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration resumed immigration talks after a long hiatus under former President Donald Trump. a Republican seeking re-election in 2024.
The US State Department offered few details on the latest discussions, saying in a statement that the talks “highlighted areas of successful cooperation on migration, while also identifying issues that have been obstacles.”
The head of the Cuban delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio, said beforehand that “extreme and inhumane measures” have harmed Cubans’ livelihoods and stimulated emigration, a reference to the US economic embargo on Cuba and other sanctions.
Asked about the accusation, a State Department official stressed that the embargo is enshrined in Congressional law and includes exemptions for exports of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods destined for Cuba.
The US embassy in Havana resumed full immigrant visa processing and consular services in January for the first time since 2017, in an attempt to stem the record number of Cubans trying to enter the United States from Mexico.
After Biden tightened border security measures in January, the number of Cubans and other migrants caught at the border dropped.
However, the Biden administration is preparing for a possible increase in illegal crossings by lifting COVID restrictions on the US-Mexico border on May 11. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing in Spanish by Aida Peláez-Fernández)
Source: Ambito
