Cuba Tells US Suspension of Visas Hurting Families
Relations between the former Cold War foes became strained after Donald Trump became the U.S. president, partly reversing the thaw seen during Barack Obama's presidency.
In September, after allegations of incidents affecting the health of its diplomats in Havana, the U.S. administration reduced its embassy to a skeleton staff, resulting in the suspension of almost all visa processing.
"The Cuban delegation expressed deep concern over the negative impact that the unilateral, unfounded and politically motivated decisions adopted by the U.S. government ... have on migration relations between both countries," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said Monday in a statement.
The statement was issued after delegations led by Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Foreign Ministry chief for U.S. affairs, and John Creamer, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, met to discuss migration issues.
Many Cubans said they were heartbroken because they could not visit or be with their loved ones. While Cuba has a population of 11.2 million people, there are an estimated 2 million Cuban-Americans in the United States.
The Trump administration also issued a warning on travel to Cuba and in October expelled 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry said this had "seriously affected the functioning of the diplomatic mission, particularly the consulate and the services it offers to Cubans residing in the United States."
The U.S. decision to cancel the visits of official delegations to Cuba was also having a "counterproductive effect" on cooperation in fields like migration, the ministry said.
Illegal migration decreases
On the positive side, both the U.S. and Cuban delegations commented on the drop in illegal Cuban migration to the United States during the talks as a result of past moves toward normalizing relations.
Obama, who announced the detente with Cuba nearly three years ago, eliminated a policy granting automatic residency to virtually all Cubans who arrived on U.S. turf in January, just before leaving office.
Cuba had asked for the change for years, saying that policy encouraged dangerous journeys and people trafficking.
"Apprehensions of Cuban migrants at U.S. ports of entry decreased by 64 percent from fiscal year 2016 to 2017, and maritime interdictions of Cuban migrants decreased by 71 percent," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
Trump said in June he was canceling Obama's "terrible and misguided deal" with Havana, returning to Cold War rhetoric, and his administration has tightened trade and travel restrictions.
He has however in practice left in place many of Obama's changes, including restored diplomatic relations and resumed direct U.S.-Cuba commercial flights and cruise-ship travel.