Havana, April 20, 2022.- The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Josefina Vidal, urged the United States to comply with the bilateral migratory agreements, the press reported today. The deputy foreign minister stressed the importance of these agreements, signed in the 1990s, since when they are not fulfilled, migration peaks are generated, increased by the resurgence of coercive measures and obstacles to consular services.
Vidal told the foreign press that to face this situation, the United States supports the economies and social systems of the region, but in the Cuban case it imposes maximum pressure in the economic order. It is an incoherent and differentiated policy towards the Island, said the official.
Referring to the visa obstacles for those who wish to travel to the United States, the diplomat pointed out that her country does not see any kind of justification for not giving all visas to Cuban emigrants in Havana and forcing most of the Cubans to move with the costs that this implies.
The deputy foreign minister reiterated that together with the consular standstill, the United States has been in breach of the 1990s agreement for five years, forcing it to grant at least 20,000 visas a year.
She also denounced that the United States is exerting pressure on countries in the region to establish specific requirements for the travel of Cubans in transit and what additionally generates obstacles.
This Thursday, April 21, Cuban and US authorities will resume the rounds of talks on migration issues that were paralyzed in 2018 during the Donald Trump administration.
With the Republican in the Oval Office, restrictions on travel increased with the unjustified closure of consular services in Havana and the closure of operating licenses or limitations on cruise and airline companies.
According to the United States Customs and Border Protection Office, in the last six months there were 79,800 arrests of Cubans.
For their part, the Cuban authorities reported that so far this year, 1,680 citizens from the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands have been returned to the island by sea and air.
Encouraged by the Cuban Adjustment Law, the only one of its kind in the world, many citizens join irregular migratory routes in Central America in which they are exposed to violence, scams and corruption by groups dedicated to drug trafficking or human trafficking.
The Cuban Government has reiterated in multiple scenarios its commitment to an orderly and safe migration, and its willingness to dialogue so that a process that constitutes a human right can be carried out without obstacles or manipulations.
(Taken from Cubadebate)