US Holds ‘Successful’ Migration Talks With Cuba

WASHINGTON, D.C. CMC – The United States says it has held “successful” migration talks with Cuban officials, reflecting “longstanding US priorities on Cuba-US migration issues.”

US Department of State spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said, last Friday, that officials from Washington and Havana met in the Cuban capital the day before to discuss the implementation of the 1994 and 1995 US-Cuba Migration Accords.

Psaki said the meeting marked the second time since January 2011 that the talks have been held.

“Under the Accords, both governments pledge to promote safe, legal and orderly migration between Cuba and the United States,” she said.

The agenda for the talks also reflected cooperation on aviation security, search and rescue, and consular document fraud.

“The US delegation highlighted areas of successful cooperation in migration, exchanging information on the interdiction of undocumented migrants, and clarifying aspects of Cuba’s recent changes in migration policy,” she added.

A call was also reiterated for the release of US government contractor Alan P. Gross, who was arrested by Cuban authorities on December 3, 2009, and later sentenced to 15 years in prison for “facilitating uncensored internet contact between a small, religious community on the island and the rest of the world.”

Cuban officials believe Gross was focused on toppling the communist government.
Meanwhile, officials in the Obama administration have said there would be no significant warming of US-Cuba relations unless Gross is released.

Havana has offered to swap Gross for four convicted Cuban spies in US prisons, but Washington has rejected the offer.

Under US-Cuba migration accords, Washington promised to issue at least 20,000 migrant visas to Cubans annually.

According to US government figures, the US diplomatic mission in Havana issued 24,727 immigrant visas in the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2013, compared to 26,720 in fiscal year 2012.

The number of tourist visas issued in the same period more than doubled, from 14,362 to 29,927.