On April 16, 2024, the U. S. and Cuba held another round of immigration dialogue. [1]
The U.S. statement about the dialogue was very noncommittal. It said the following: “So these were bilateral discussions between the United States and Cuba. They are bilateral discussions on migration that take place biannually, twice a year. They reflect the commitment by the United States to regularly review the implementation of the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords, which date back to 1984. Ensuring safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration between Cuba and the United States remains a primary interest of the United States, consistent with our interest in fostering family reunification and promoting greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.”
The Cuban commentary on this dialogue was more confrontive. It said before the meeting, “that it will insist that the United States ease the sanctions it blames for the migratory exodus from the island and end the ‘special treatment’ for Cubans who enter its territory illegally.”
The deputy director of American Affiars at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Johanna Tablada de le Torre, said before the meeting. ”The [U.S.] blockade is what weighs most on the bilateral immigration situation.” Cuba blames U.S. for sanctions that are strangling the Cuban economy and the U.S.’ Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 granting “Cubans special entry rights and support upon arrival, for encouraging [Cuban] . . . young people to emigrate.” The U.S., on the other hand, said this migration is due to “the lack of civil liberties and human rights in Cuba . . . combined with a state-dominated economy.”
Cuba also accused the U.S. “of using federal funds to finance the main media and digital platforms that, according to the [Cuban] regime, are those that ‘stimulate irregular emigration.’ [Cuba] also accused [U.S.] senior government officials of participating in what were described as “communication operations of discredit and aggression.”
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[1] U.S. State Dep’t, Department Press Briefing, April 16, 2024; Havana insists that Washington ease sanctions, which it blames for the migratory exodus, Diario de Cuba (April 14, 2024).
More Cuban Details on Migration Talks with U.S.
On the day after the April 16th U.S.-Cuba dialogue about migration, the Cuban government said the “parties reviewed the status of compliance with the bilateral Migration Agreements, . . . [which document] the mutual commitment to guarantee regular, safe and orderly migration.”
Cuba “reaffirmed its willingness to comply and respect, as up to now, the established commitments and reiterated its concern about the policies and measures to encourage irregular migration that remain in force by political decision of the US Government.”
Cuba “emphatically denounced the negative impact that the U.S. economic blockade and its extreme reinforcement applied since 2019, exert on the socioeconomic conditions of the Cuban population, a factor that constitutes an important incentive to migration. In this regard the following was highlighted: keeping the country on the so-called List of State Sponsors of Terrorism, the preferential treatment still received by Cubans who illegally enter U.S. territory and the validity of the Cuban Adjustment Act.”
“The socioeconomic conditions of people greatly influence the decision to emigrate and that is present in the case of Cubans. What is extraordinary about Cuba and is unique is that these socioeconomic conditions are powerfully influenced by the policy of the United States Government, with an immense economy with a lot of power directed precisely to suffocate the Cuban economy, to depress the income, the standard of living of the population, to affect fundamental services.”
Cuba “reiterated the importance of restoring the processing of non-immigrant visas at the US Embassy in Havana , a consular facility that would prevent the transfer to third countries of Cuban citizens interested in this type of visa.”
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The US and the regime discuss migration in ‘a climate of considerable understanding,’ according to Havana, Diario de Cuba (April 17, 2024), https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1713333766_54186.html
Cuba and the United States hold migration talks in Washington DC, Cuba Ministry of Foreign Affairs (April 17, 2024), https://misiones.cubaminrex.cu/en/articulo/cuba-and-united-states-hold-migration-talks-washington-dc-0