Tag: Cuba. United States of America (USA)

Obama Foundation’s Leaders Program 

“On September 9, the Obama Foundation (a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world) announced  and “welcomed 206 changemakers from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States into The Obama Foundation’s Leaders Program. Representing 70 nations and territories, these Leaders will join four regional programs that showcase the global reach and impact of the Foundation’s leadership network. This year’s class brings together 35 Leaders from Africa, 35 from the Asia-Pacific region, 35 from Europe, and more than 100 from the United States.”[1]

“Launched in Africa in 2018 and expanded to Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States by 2023, the Leaders program now runs across all four regions simultaneously, creating new opportunities for cross-regional learning. Upon completion of the program, Obama Leaders will join the Obama Leadership Network, a growing global alumni community of over 1,500 active changemakers, where they will take their experiences forward through continued collaboration.”

“The . . . Leaders program aims to inspire, empower, and connect regional cohorts of changemakers to accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities and throughout their region and across our world.”

“These 24-45-year-old emerging leaders from around the world forge societies and communities rooted in shared values, where all people belong, participate, and thrive.”

“Inspired by President Obama’s leadership approach, the Leaders program engages participants in the challenges, opportunities, and skills of making positive change. Supported by full group sessions, small group discussions, and individualized leadership coaching, participants define a values-based foundation for sustained leadership, cultivate relationships with others to catalyze more inclusive, lasting change, and prepare to engage with issues at the systems level.”

“Leaders will continue to gain a broader global perspective by joining the Obama Leadership Network.”

Blogger’s Reactions

This program came to the attention of this blogger when he received the Foundation’s “Impact” Newsletter for Fall 2025. He was pleasantly surprised to learn about this Program and the other productive activities of the Foundation.

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[1] The Obama Foundation Introduces 2025-2026 Class of More Than 200 Global Leaders (Sept. (, 2025); Obama Foundation, The Leaders Program, https://obama.org/programs/leaders/.

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U.S. Blames Cuba for Failure of U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

On December 16. 2024, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Brian Nichols made a statement about the U.S.-Cuba relationship to the editors of Marti Noticias, a Cuba organization founded in 1983 “to serve as a reliable and authoritative source of accurate, balanced and complete information for the Cuban people,” which is “a closed society where all media outlets continue to be controlled by the State, [while] Radio Martí and Martinoticias.com focus on essentially covering the Cuban issue with an alternative vision that breaks censorship.”[1]

Nichols said, ““The restoration of diplomatic relations under the Obama administration was an important step in trying to improve the lives of Cuban citizens and address challenges such as the lack of democracy on the island. However, the reforms we would have liked to see in Cuba did not occur.”

“Relations quickly cooled after Donald Trump came to power in his first term, mysterious health incidents involving US diplomats in Havana and then the brutal repression of peaceful protests by hundreds of thousands of Cubans demanding freedom.”

“In 2021 we saw a wave of repression that truly stunned the world, a huge setback for the well-being of the Cuban people and the international community. It was a missed opportunity by the Cuban regime,” Nichols added.

“Since mass protests in July 2021, the Cuban regime has imprisoned more than 1,000 political prisoners, many of them young people who took to the streets to peacefully demand fundamental freedoms. The sentences imposed amount to decades of imprisonment. Despite repeated calls from the United States for their release, Havana has ignored these demands.”

“’Our focus in Cuba is to promote private sector development and address some of the humanitarian challenges, such as the lack of economic resources and food,’ said Nichols.”

“’There is hunger, maybe not a famine, but a lot of hunger in Cuba. The economic activity of the private sector supports the well-being of ordinary people, and we have tried to support this with changes in economic regulations.’”

“In May 2024, the Joe Biden administration implemented measures to strengthen the private sector on the island, allowing Cuban entrepreneurs to open bank accounts in the United States and carry out international transactions. Cloud services were also authorized to improve Internet access and financial options were expanded to benefit the population.”

“However, the Cuban regime has hindered this development. It has restricted wholesale trade for private actors, limiting it exclusively to contracts with state entities. In addition, it eliminated incentives for new businesses, imposed higher requirements for entrepreneurship, increased taxes and tightened accounting regulations, further hampering private sector growth.”

“’’The solution to the problems Cuba faces at this time is democracy and increased freedoms,’ Nichols stressed, arguing that greater openness would allow for ‘more economic growth’ and general well-being for the population.”

“’You cannot treat the symptoms, such as the blackouts, without addressing the real disease: the lack of democracy in Cuba,’ Nichols concluded.

Reactions

There is a lot of truth in these remarks by Deputy Secretary Nichols. However, it misleadingly omits referring to U.S. actions that have contributed to the current unpleasant state of the relationship: maintenance of the U.S. embargo of the island and the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Note shold also be made about this blog’s posts about President Obama’s leadership in fostering a normalization of this bilateral relationship and the first Trump administration’s abandonment of these Obama efforts and the failure of the Biden Administration to return to the Obama normalization campaign.

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[1] Ten years after the ‘thaw’ with Havana, the U.S. says it was a ;missed opportunity,’ Diario de Cuba (Dec. 17. 2024); Penton, “A missed opportunity,’ says the US a decade after the thaw with Cuba, Marti Noricias (Dec. 16, 2024); Get to know us, Marti Noticias. See also Why Are Cuba and the U.S. Still Mired in the Cold War?, dwkcommentaries.com (Dec. 16, 2024).

 

Latest U.S.-Cuba Bilateral Migration Dialogue 

On December 4, the U.S. and Cuba held its latest bilateral dialogue about migration, this time in Havana.

The short statement about this meeting from the U.S. Embassy in Havana said the following:[1]

  • The meeting was to “review implementation of the U.S.-Cuba Migration Agreements, a series of bilateral agreements dating back to 1984. This was the second of two scheduled bilateral meetings on migration in 2024, reflecting the United States’ commitment to safe, legal, and orderly migration. The U.S. delegation was led by Eric Jacobstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, while the Cuban delegation was led by Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío.”
  • “The U.S. delegation addressed key issues related to collaboration on migration procedures and highlighted the challenges to achieving the goals of the Agreements. During the talks, the United States raised issues of interest to the Cuban government, including facilitating family reunification, discouraging irregular migration, and improving respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.”

A more fulsome account appeared in Diario de Cuba that focused on comments by Fernandez de Cossio, the Cuban official at the meeting. He said that Cuba “expressed its willingness to consolidate and expand bilateral cooperation on migration issues with the United States” and that this meeting “responds to the mutual commitment to try to guarantee that migration between Cuba and the United States is safe, orderly and regular.” [2]

Cossio also made the following comments:

  • “Cuba reiterated its willingness to comply with the commitments it has assumed and is demanding a similar commitment from the United States to comply with the agreements” and that the agreements were “comprehensive” and fulfilled on the basis of reciprocity.”
  • [E]migrants from the island who go to the US “do so motivated by two fundamental causes: the privileged treatment that the US has always granted to any Cuban who tries to enter that country by any means, whether regular or irregular, which is called a pull factor; but there is also a push factor, which is a policy of economic blockade aimed at depressing the living standards of Cubans living in Cuba.”
  • “This combination of factors poses a fundamental contradiction to the purposes of these agreements and to the mutual commitment to ensure that migration is regular, orderly and safe.”
  • The “Cuban government insisted on the need to fully resume the provision of consular services at the U.S. Embassy in Havana for those applying for nonimmigrant visas, which, although partially resumed in August for certain categories, has not yet recovered to the level it had before. We have argued that this is a fact or that encourages many people to want to emigrate to obtain residency and be able to travel between the two countries, something that would not be necessary if multiple visas existed and if citizens who visit were processed from Havana.”
  • “Also, those who have been admitted to the United States but have not been granted a specific legal status. For us, that is an important issue.”
  • “We point out the aggressive treatment that has been taking place for several months in US airports against Cubans residing in Cuba, Cubans residing in the US or in third countries when they travel to the US,”
  • “We believe that for two countries like Cuba and the United States, with geographical proximity and a considerable flow of travelers, plus a large presence of Cubans in North American territory, it is important that both governments maintain cooperation on migration issues,”

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[1]  US Embassy Havana, Bi-Annual Dialogue on Migration between the United States and Cuba in Havana, Cuba (Dec. 4, 2024).

[2] US calls on Havana to ‘improve respect for human rights’ in new bilateral migration dialogue,, Diario de Cuba (Dec.5, 2024).

Support for Immigration from Nicholas Eberstadt and George Will

Nicholas Eberstadt , the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at Washington, D.C.;’s American Enterprise Institute (AEI), has authored a penetrating 23-page article about the upcoming new era of history he calls “the age of depopulation.”[1]

Eberstadt “researches and writes extensively on demographics and economic development generally, and more specifically on international security in the Korean peninsula and Asia. Domestically, he focuses on poverty and social well-being.” The AEI is a  “public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world [and advancing] ideas rooted in our belief in democracy, free enterprise, American strength and global leadership, solidarity with those at the periphery of our society, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture.”[2]

George Will’s Endorsement of Eberstadt’s Article

George Will, the noted columnist for the Washington Post, has endorsed the importance of the Eberstadt article, in a two-page column that distills at least some of Eberstadt’s important points.[3]

Here are the key points of that distillation.

“Earth’s population is going to decline. A lot. This will create social hazards that will challenge political ingenuity. Still, it will be, primarily, a protracted reverberation of a relatively recent, and excellent, event in humanity’s story: the emancipation of women.”

Eberstadt “says a large excess of deaths over births will be driven not by a brute calamity like the bubonic plague but by choices: those regarding fertility, family structures and living arrangements, all reflecting ‘a worldwide reduction in the desire for children.’”

“Today, two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries with below-replacement levels (2.1 births per woman) of fertility. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia has had 17 million more deaths than births. The 27 European Union countries are, collectively, 30 percent below replacement. Last year, France had fewer births than in 1806, when Napoleon won the Battle of Jena. Italy had the fewest since its 1861 unification, Spain the fewest since it started keeping track of this in 1859. America’s “demographic exceptionalism” is despite its fertility rate (1.62 last year), thanks to immigration.”

“Eberstadt says, as the world has become richer, healthier, more educated and more urbanized, ‘the most powerful national fertility predictor’ has been something related to these changes: changes in ‘what women want.’ Volition shapes birth rates because now people everywhere are ‘aware of the possibility of very different ways of life from the ones that confined their parents.’”

“It is possible that ‘the pervasive graying of the population and protracted population decline will hobble economic growth and cripple social welfare systems in rich countries,’ Eberstadt writes. Also: ‘A coming wave of senescence,’ smaller family units, fewer people getting married, ‘high levels of voluntary childlessness,’ ‘dwindling workforces, reduced savings and investment, unsustainable social outlays, and budget deficits’ are the fate of developed nations — unless they make ‘sweeping changes.’”

“Eberstadt is, however, tentatively cheerful: ‘Steadily improving living standards and material and technological advances will still be possible.’ The Earth ‘is richer and better fed than ever before — and natural resources are more plentiful and less expensive (after adjusting for inflation), than ever before,’ and the global population is more ‘extensively schooled’ than ever. What is required is ‘a favorable business climate,’ which is Eberstadt’s shorthand for allowing market forces to wring maximum efficiency from fewer people: ‘Prosperity in a depopulating world will also depend on open economies: free trade in goods, services, and finance to counter the constraints that declining populations otherwise engender.’”

“The ‘demographic tides’ are, Eberstadt writes, running against the quartet of nations (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) that, oblivious of demography, are exaggerating their future powers. China’s next generation ‘is on track to be only half as large as the preceding one.’”

“Furthermore, ‘demographic trends are on course to augment American power.’”

“Although the United States is ‘a sub-replacement society, it has higher fertility levels than any East Asian country and almost all European states,’ Eberstadt says. Even more important, thanks to immigration, ‘the United States is on track to account for a growing share of the rich world’s labor force, youth, and highly educated talent.’”

“One issue in this year’s presidential campaign is germane to the convulsive demographic changes that are coming: immigration. Concerning this, Donald Trump is obtuse, and Kamala Harris has, as about most things, vagueness born of timidity.”

Conclusion

Many thanks to Eberstadt and Will for their illumination of these exceedingly important issues.

This blog has written many posts about the aging and declining population of the U.S. and many of its states and other countries in the world and the challenges that presents and to the importance of the U.S. continuing to develop policies that encourage and welcome immigrants.[4]

With some exceptions, most U.S. citizens should be glad to think and say “I am a proud descendant of immigrants to the U.S.” and support reforms of U.S. immigration law to welcome more immigrants.

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[1] Eberstadt, The Age of Depopulation: Surviving a World Gone Gray, Foreign Affairs (Nov/Dec 2024)

[2] Nicolas Eberstadt, Bio & Experience; About {AEI}.

[3] Will, If demography is destiny, bring on immigration. We’re going to need it, Wash. Post (Oct. 23, 2024)

[4] Here is a list of some of the posts to dwkcommentaries regarding the challenges to public policy presented by low birthrates for the U.S. and many other countries and hence the need for more immigrants: U.S. States That Could Have Greatest Benefit from Immigrants Labor (February 28, 2024); Another Documentation of the U.S. Need for Immigrants (April 12, 2024); U.S. Fertility Rate Falls to Record Low (April 25, 2024); Will the World’s Population Cease To Expand? (May 15, 2024); Foreign Physicians Needed To Solve U.S. Doctor Shortage, (June 1, 2024);“Economist” Magazine Also Predicts Lower World Population (June 3, 2024):Pew Research Center Proposes Framework for U.S. Immigration Reform (10/2/24);The Significance of the U.S. Low Birth Rate (10/7/24);.Government Difficulties in Raising Birthrates (10/14/24)..

Government Difficulties in Raising Birthrates  

This blog has discussed the current low birth rates most countries are experiencing and their efforts to increase those rates to combat declining and aging population.[1]

Now the New York Times discusses the failure of various policies adopted around the world to attempt to increase birth rates.[2]

Japan has been the first to recognize this ‘problem.’ “Starting in the 1990s, Japan began rolling out policies and pronouncements designed to spur people to have more babies. The government required employers to offer child care leave of up to a year, opened more subsidized day care slots, exhorted men to do housework and take paternity leave, and called on companies to shorten work hours. In 1992, the government started paying direct cash allowances for having even one child (earlier, they had started with the third child), and bimonthly payments for all children were later introduced.”

“None of this has worked. Last year, Japan’s fertility rate stood at 1.2. In Tokyo, the rate is now less than one. The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since the government started collecting statistics in 1899.”

The United Nations Population Fund in a 2019 report found that “half of the world’s population lives in countries where the fertility rate has fallen below the ‘replacement rate’ of 2.1 births per woman.”

“Lower birthrates [in some respects] signify progress: Declining infant mortality rates reduced the need to have many children. As economies transitioned away from predominantly agricultural or family-owned businesses that required offspring to run, people focused on leisure and other aspirations. Women could now pursue career goals and personal fulfillment beyond raising children. Undergirding it all was the rise of birth control, which meant women could determine whether and when they got pregnant.”

“In Japan, policymakers are trying a new gambit: promoting weddings. Last year, fewer than 500,000 couples got married in Japan, the lowest number since 1933, despite polls showing that most single men and women would like to do so. One obstacle is that many young adults live with their parents. Yet it’s “hard to imagine that this pro-wedding push will succeed in boosting the birthrate any more than Japan’s last three decades of initiatives have. In the end, it seems that governments can only do so much.”

Now many, if not most, countries are experiencing these problems: “working-age populations outnumbered by the elderly; towns emptying out; important jobs unfilled; business innovation faltering. Immigration could be a straightforward antidote, but in many of the countries with declining birthrates, accepting large numbers of immigrants has become politically toxic.”

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[1] The Significance of the U.S. Low Birth Rate, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 7, 2024) (footnote 1 cites most of these blog posts).

[2]  Rich, Can the Government Get People To Have More Babies, N.Y. Times (Oct. 13, 2024) .

 

 

Former Foreign Presidents Urge U.S. To Cancel Designation of Cuba as State Sponsor of Terrorism 

“A group of 35 former presidents, including Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, Brazil’s Dilma Roussef, Colombia’s Ernesto Samper and Spain’s José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, sent a letter to [President] Biden demanding that he remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.”[1]

This group said that thie designation is “a coercive measure that is difficult to justify in the 21st century.“ After “decades of unilateral sanctions and coercive measures, Cuba’s economy is one of the most severely affected in the world and is now, socially, at a point of no return.” They reiterate “Havana’s narrative, which blames the problems facing the island on the sanctions, while the regime’s military conglomerate, GAESA, builds luxury hotels and Cuba imports hundreds of millions of dollars annually in all kinds of products, especially food, from” the U.S. The letter, however, fails to mention that the current historic exodus is subsequent to the economic package of the Task Order and the wave of [Cuban] repression after the social outbreak of 11J.”

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[1]  Evo, Correa, Zapatero, Roussef: 35 former presidents ask Biden to exclude the Cuban regime as a sponsor of terrorism, Diario de Cuba (Sept. 14, 2024).

Cuba’s Acquisition of U.S. Medical Supplies and Food    

This year Cuba has been receiving substantial supplies of medical products and medicines from the U.S. [1]

  • For the first six months of 2024, Cuba received donations of medical products and medicines from the U.S. worth $3,609,682.
  • In June 2024 Cuba acquired $89,586 worth of diagnostic and laboratory reagents from the U.S.
  • In January 2024 Cuba purchased more than $31,000 worth of penicillin and insulin; toothpaste; ultrasound scanning equipment; artificial limbs; unspecified medical devices; surgical devices for dental and ophthalmic use; cannulas and gelatin capsules and in May 2024 it acquired another $5,337 worth of same.

In addition, for the first six months of this year, U.S. exports of food to Cuba totaled  $210,628,425.

All of these U.S. exports are authorized under the U.S. Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) of 2000. Since the first such purchases in December 2021, the total exceeds  $7,456,961,818.

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[1]  Reyes, Thousands of dollars in laboratory reagents were purchased by the Cuban regime in the US, Diario de Cuba (Aug.7, 2024).

 

 

Russian Military Ships’ Recent Visit to Cuba 

On June 12th  four Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine and a frigate capable of carrying hypersonic missiles, arrived in Cuba. Their arrival and visit were monitored by U.S. and Canadian ships.[1]

Just hours later on June 12th a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine (the USS Helena) stopped in the waters near the U.S. Guantanamo Naval Base at the eastern end of Cuba, and other U.S. and Canadian military vessels were in the island’s vicinity.[2]

According to the Official statement of Cuba’s Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces, the visit of the four Russian naval vessels was “part of the historic friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation, [and] strictly adheres to the international conventions to which the State of Cuba is a party. Since none of these ships carry nuclear weapons, their stopover in our country represents no threat to the region.”[3]

While the Russian vessels were docked in Havana, they were open for visits to Cuban visitors, including its President, Miguel Diaz-Canel. The Russian vessels left Havana on June 18th, and its frigate went north along the U.S. eastern coastline.

On June 18th Alexander Moiseev, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, said that “the proximity of the detachment of ships of the [Russian] Northern Fleet to the borders of our current opponent [the U.S.] irritates someone. For us this is very important, and we trusted the actions of our forces. In addition, it shows support for the Republic of Cuba, which is close to us. The campaign had an effect,” and the Kremlin “will continue the practice of sailing ships to distant maritime zones.” [4]

On the same date, June 18th ,  the Pentagon’s Press Secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, said, “we obviously closely monitored [the Russian naval activity near Cuba and now near the U.S.. but we], don’t see any threat to the homeland and, and these types of exercises are not new. We’ve seen them take place . . . over the years.”

U.S. Congressional Hearing[5]

On June 12, the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on “Great Power Competition in the Western Hemisphere” with the following witnesses: Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs; Todd Robinson, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State; and Mr. Michael Camilleri, Acting Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development.

Chairman McCaul’s Opening Statement

The Committee’s Chair, Representative Michael McCaul (Rep., Tex.), opened the hearing with an Opening Statement, which stated, in part, the following:

  • “Under the Biden administration, China, Russia, and Iran have bolstered their presence in the region. They have cornered critical mineral markets, expanded their military footprint, and deepened their intelligence capabilities. All aided and abetted by many authoritarian regimes in the Americas. As we speak, four Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, and a frigate carrying hypersonic missiles are set to arrive in Cuba.”
  • “Congress has given the President tools to combat and compete with the great powers. It has authorized the [U.S. International Development Finance Corporation], appropriated bilateral economic assistance, and provided funding through the CHIPS Act – which I authored and passed into law – to secure our supply chains. It has mandated corruption sanctions against foreign officials and their family members.”
  • “And yet, the Biden administration has not effectively used all the tools Congress has provided. The result is a hemisphere more and more aligned with our adversaries.”
  • “Our adversaries cannot be separated. They are all connected and they are all working together. We can’t win the game if we are not on the field competing.
  • “And in the great power competition in our hemisphere, I believe, that America is falling behind.”

In his subsequent questioning of the three witnesses, McCaul said, “ I think we need a new doctrine for our hemisphere. One that protects our interests, combats our enemies, and promotes shared prosperity between us and our allies.”

Assistant Secretary Nichols’ Testimony

Assistant Secretary Nichols told the Committee that the U.S. in discussions with Cuban officials has raised U.S. concerns about Cuba’s allowing or promoting “the participation of Cuban mercenaries as part of Russian aggression against Ukraine.” This is just one of many actions that demonstrates the importance of the Cuba-Russia  military relationship, including the arrival this week of four Russian vessels in Cuban waters, and their monitoring by U.S. and Canadian warships.[6]

Nichols also mentioned the recent U.S. efforts to encourage the growing importance of private business enterprises in Cuba, which the U.S. believes are vital to counteract the malign influence on Cuba of Russia and China.

Conclusion

Unfortunately the U.S. continued embargo of Cuba and identifying the island as a state sponsor of terrorism have contributed to a tense relationship between the two countries and to Cuba’s need for support from other strong countries like Russia. As has been argued in other posts to this blog, the U.S. should cease these policies that are harmful to Cuba and pursue a policy of reconciliation.

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 [1]  E.g., Russian ships arrive in Cuba as Cold War allies strengthen their ties, CNN.com (June 12, 2024).

[2]  The US sends an attack submarine to the Guantanamo Naval Base, Diario de Cuba (June 13, 2024).

[3] The regime regarding the US nuclear submarine: ‘We were informed, but we do not like its presence, Diario de Cuba (June 15, 2024).

 [4 ] What Is the Russian war flotilla that was in Cuba doing off the coast of Florida, Diario de Cuba? (June 19, 2024); The Russian war flotilla leaves Cuba, while US ships and tracking planes are activated, Diario de Cuba (June 17, 2024)

[5] House Foreign Affairs Comm., Committee Hearing Notice (June 5, 2024); House Foreign Affairs Comm., Hearing Webcast, Great Power Competition in the Western Hemisphere (June 12, 2024)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[6] Granma, the official newspaper of the island’s communist Party, said the arrival of these Russian vessels was “a sign of the two countries’ “relations of friendship and collaboration.” (In Cuba, naval detachment of the Russian Federation, Granma (June 13, 2024) https://www.granma.cu/mundo/2024-06-13/en-cuba-destacamento-naval-de-la-federacion-de-rusia-13-06-2024-02-06-11

 

 

U.S. Again Ranks Cuba in Worst Category for Human Trafficking

On June 24, the U.S. State Department released its 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report on human trafficking, whose “severe forms” are defined in the U.S. Trafficking Victims Proetection Act (TVPA) as: “sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age” or “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.”[1]

U.S. Secretary of State’s Comments

U.S. Seretary of State Antony J. Blinken opened the State Department’s session with the following message:

  • “Human trafficking is a stain on the conscience of our society.  It fuels crime, corruption, and violence.  It distorts our economies and harms our workers. And it violates the fundamental right of all people to be free.”
  • “Around the globe, an estimated 27 million people are exploited for labor, services, and commercial sex.  Through force, fraud, and coercion, they are made to toil in fields and factories, in restaurants and residences.  Traffickers prey on some of the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable individuals – profiting from their plight.”
  • “The State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report provides the world’s most comprehensive assessment of this abhorrent practice, as well as efforts by governments and stakeholders around the globe to combat it.  By measuring progress in 188 countries – including the United States – we are advancing President Biden’s commitment to prevent trafficking, prosecute perpetrators, and protect survivors.”
  • “Even as this resource covers long-standing forms and methods of trafficking, it also examines the growing role of technology in both facilitating exploitation and countering it.”
  • “Digital tools have amplified the reach, scale, and speed of trafficking. Perpetrators use dating apps and online ads to recruit victims.  They use online platforms to sell illicit sexual content.  They leverage encrypted messaging and digital currencies to evade detection.”
  • “At the same time, technology is also one of our most powerful tools to combat this enduring scourge.  Mobile phones, social media platforms, and artificial intelligence make it possible for advocates and law enforcement to raise greater awareness about the rights of workers and migrants, locate victims and perpetrators of online sexual exploitation, and analyze large amounts of data to detect emerging human trafficking trends.”
  • “As technology makes it easier for traffickers to operate across geographies and jurisdictions, those of us committed to rooting out this horrendous crime – in government, businesses, civil society – can and must work together and coordinate our efforts.”

U.S. Ambassador at Large’s Comments

Cindy Dyer, the U.S. Ambassor at Large, added comments about this report that focused on the importance of partners (survivors, other governments and non-governmental agencies) in combatting this trafficking.

Ranking of Countries

The report ranked all countries of  the world into the following tiers:

  • “Tier 1 Countries whose governments fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.” (30 countries, including the U.S.)
  • “Tier 2 Countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.” (105 countries)
  • “Tier 2 Watch List. Countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards, and for which:the estimated number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions; or there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials.” (26 countries)
  • “Tier 3. Countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.” In addition, “The TVPA, as amended, lists additional factors to determine whether a country should be on Tier 2 (or Tier 2 Watch List) versus Tier 3: the extent to which the country is a country of origin, transit, or destination for severe forms of trafficking; the extent to which the country’s government does not meet the TVPA’s minimum standards and, in particular, the extent to which officials or government employees have been complicit in severe forms of trafficking; reasonable measures that the government would need to undertake to be in compliance with the minimum standards in light of the government’s resources and capabilities to address and eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons; the extent to which the government is devoting sufficient budgetary resources to investigate and prosecute human trafficking, convict and sentence traffickers; and obtain restitution for victims of human trafficking; and the extent to which the government is devoting sufficient budgetary resources to protect victims and prevent the crime from occurring.” (24 countries, including Cuba. The other countries so ranked are Afghanistan, Algeria, Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, Chad, China (People’s Republic of), Curacao, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of ), Macau, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Sint Maarten, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.)

Report’s Comments on Cuba

 In the section entitled “Topics of Special Interest” the report discussed  “Human Trafficking in Cuba’s Labor Export Program.” Here is what it said:

“Each year, the Cuban government sends tens of thousands of workers around the globe under multi-year cooperation agreements negotiated with receiving countries.  While medical missions remain the most prevalent, the Cuban government also profited from other similarly coercive labor export programs, including those involving teachers, artists, athletes and coaches, engineers, forestry technicians, and nearly 7,000 merchant mariners worldwide.   According to a report published by the Cuban government, by the end of 2023, there were more than 22,000 government-affiliated Cuban workers in over 53 countries, and medical professionals composed 75 percent of its exported workforce.  The COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for medical workers in many places around the world, and the Cuban government used the opportunity to expand its reach by increasing the number of its medical personnel abroad through the Henry Reeve Brigades, which Cuba first initiated in 2005 to respond to natural disasters and epidemics.  Experts estimate the Cuban government collects $6 billion to $8 billion annually from its export of services, which includes the medical missions.  The labor export program remains the largest foreign revenue source for the Cuban government.”

“There are serious concerns with Cuba’s recruitment and retention practices surrounding the labor export program.  While the conditions of each international labor mission vary from country to country, the Cuban government subjects all government-affiliated workers to the same coercive laws.  Cuba has a government policy or pattern to profit from forced labor in the labor export program, which includes foreign medical missions.  The Cuban government labels workers who leave the program without completing it as “deserters,” a category that under Cuban immigration law deems them as “undesirable.”  The government bans workers labeled as “deserters” and “undesirables” from returning to Cuba for eight years, preventing them from visiting their families in Cuba.  It categorizes Cuban nationals who do not return to the country within 24 months as having “emigrated.”  Individuals who emigrate lose all their citizen protections, rights under Cuban law, and any property they left behind.  These government policies and legal provisions, taken together, coerce workers and punish those seeking to exercise freedom of movement.  According to credible sources, by 2021, the Cuban government had sanctioned 40,000 professionals under these provisions, and by 2022, there were approximately 5,000 children forcibly separated from their parents due to the government’s policies surrounding the program.”

“Complaints filed with the International Criminal Court and the UN indicate most workers did not volunteer for the program, some never saw a contract or knew their destination, many had their passports confiscated by Cuban officials once they arrived at their destination, and almost all had “minders” or overseers.  According to the complaints and survivors, Cuban heads of mission in the country subjected workers to surveillance, prevented them from freely associating with locals, and imposed a strict curfew.  Cuba also confiscated between 75 and 90 percent of each worker’s salary.  As a result of the well-founded complaints and information about the exploitative nature of Cuba’s labor export program, at the end of 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur for Contemporary Forms of Slavery filed a new communication outlining the persistent concerns with the program, particularly for Cuban workers in Italy, Qatar, and Spain.”

“While exploitation, including forced labor, of workers remains the primary concern with the program, Cuba’s practices can also negatively impact a host country’s healthcare system.  Survivors of the program have reported being forced by the Cuban in-country mission director to falsify medical records and misrepresent critical information to justify their presence and need to local authorities.  Some individuals reported discarding medications, fabricating names, and documenting medical procedures that never occurred.  When medical workers refused to comply with the demands of the Cuban in-country mission director, they faced punishment and retaliation.  While the Cuban government promotes workers as highly skilled medical professionals and specialists, these workers often lack adequate medical training to treat complex conditions.  These practices are unethical, negligent, exploitative, and risk the lives of those they serve.”

“Governments should make efforts to combat human trafficking, and this includes not purchasing goods or services made or provided with forced labor.  Governments that utilize Cuba’s labor export programs despite the serious concerns with the program should at a minimum conduct frequent and unannounced labor inspections to screen these workers for trafficking indicators and employ victim-centered interviewing techniques.  These host governments should ensure all Cuban workers are subject to the same laws, regulations, and protections as for other migrant workers and that they are not brought via a negotiated agreement with the Government of Cuba that limits these protections or exempts Cuban workers from Wage Protections Systems or other tools designed to strengthen transparency.  Officials should ensure workers maintain complete control of their passports and medical certifications and can provide proof of full salary payment to bank accounts under the workers’ control.  They should scrutinize medical reports produced by these workers, offer protection for those who face retaliation and punishment for terminating their employment, and raise awareness of trafficking risks for all foreign workers, including government-affiliated Cuban workers.”

Cuba’s Comments on This Report[2]

On June 24, Granma (the official voice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba) said, “[A lier is] the neighboring government, that one to the north of the archipelago, which, like the naked king in a children’s story, displays its falsehoods about Cuba, without realizing that its shame is in the air; so arrogant is its arrogance.The current U.S. administration arbitrarily insists on keeping Cuba in the worst category (level 3) in its recently published annual State Department report on human trafficking. The actions of the Washington authorities, marked by political motivations, deserved the response, from . . . the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez [who said]:

“The empire has once again listed Cuba in its manipulative report on human trafficking, an outrageous maneuver in the open war against Cuban medical collaboration. Enough cynicism, Secretary Blinken. You are well aware of our zero-tolerance policy for this criminal practice. To justify the action, the report referred to the year 2023 uses contradictory arguments, based on the defamation of the work of Cuban medical collaboration in more than a hundred countries. Cuba’s cooperation with other peoples in the field of health is so humane that they have to attack it. It bothers them that, in the midst of the lordship of perversity and dishonor with which they pretend to dominate the world, the unsubmissive island brings light to the darkness and health to those who suffer.”

“But it is not fortuitous to include Cuba in spurious lists, to consider the island in the worst category in its report on human trafficking allows the White House to justify the blockade and the endless saga of coercive measures aimed at starving its people.”

“It would seem that the world is upside down: those who promote human trafficking, encouraging illegal departures, those who hinder the normal migratory flow between the two nations, are the ones who judge and punish.”

“Those who do not allow – to cite just one example – our baseball players to benefit from an agreement that prevents them from falling into the arms of human traffickers to reach the MLB, are the same ones who seek to condemn those who maintain a zero tolerance policy against human trafficking.”

Conclusion

This is a very complicated report, and the State Department website says, “This posted version is not fully accessible, meaning it may be inaccessible or incompatible with assistive technology. An accessible version will be posted as soon as the ongoing updates are concluded.” (Thus, there may be errors in this post and readers are invited to note any such corrections.)

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[1]U.S. State Dep’t, 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report (June 2024); The US considers that the regime ‘is not making significant efforts’ to combat human trafficking, Diario de Cuba (June 24, 2024).

[2] Capote, Accusing Cuba of human trafficking, another ruse to justify economic warfare, Granma (June 26, 2024).

Cuba States That Its Cooperation Against Terrorism Invalidates U.S. Finding That Cuba Is a State Sponsor of Terrorism 

A prior post reported that the U.S. State Department has removed Cuba from a U.S. list of states that do not cooperate against terrorism while simultaneously keeping Cuba on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. [1]

Cuban Foreign Ministry Response

In response, the Cuban Foreign Ministry pointed out the inconsistency of the U.S. positions and demanded that the U.S. also end its designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. That Cuban statement directly stated, ‘The State Department itself maintains Cuba on a list designating states that allegedly ‘sponsor’ terrorism. This is nothing but a totally unilateral and unfounded list, whose only purpose is to smear and serve as a pretext for imposing  coercive economic sanctions against them, as those ruthlessly imposed upon Cuba.” [2]

“The demand for the United States government to amend such an injustice continues to be firmly and repeatedly made not only by the Cuban people and many governments, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also by political, social and religious organizations in the United States itself and by several U.S. politicians.”

“The clear and absolute truth is that Cuba does not sponsor terrorism, but it has been a victim of it instead, including State terrorism. This is a question that can be confirmed by anyone interested in the topic and that is very well-known by the government of the United States, its State Department and its intelligence and law enforcement agencies. They are also fully aware of how significantly harmful for the Cuban economy are the sanctions, actions and the intimidating effect that automatically have on any State having it included in such a list, regardless of what the truth might be.”

“It is not enough to recognize that Cuba fully cooperates with the United States. Cuba does so with the entire international community as well.  That  is a widely known fact and public opinion is not to be misled about it. The President of the United States has all the privileges to act honestly and to do what is  right.”

Colombian Government Response

The Government of Colombia also reiterated its call for the U.S. to rescind its  unjust designation of Cuba as an alleged State sponsor of terrorism, which ignores the Island’s commitment to the search for peace. The Colombian Foreign Ministry said that, due to foreign policy principles, it does not share this type of unilateral extraterritorial measures, and expressed its gratitude for the support and enormous efforts of Cuba to contribute to the search for peace in its territory.[3]

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 [1 ]U.S. Excludes Cuba from List of Non-Cooperators Against Terrorism, dwkcommentaries.com (May 18, 2024).

[2 ] Statement of Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 16, 2024); Capote, If Cuba cooperates against terrorism, it is absurd to accuse it of being a sponsor, Granma (May 18, 2024).

[3] Colombia demanded to remove Cuba from the terrorism list, Granma (May 18, 2024).