Joint Talks Between U.S. And Cuba On Migration And Trafficking

According to a CMC press report, the United States and Cuba are set to meet this week in Washington D.C. to hold talks on issues related to migration and the fight against drug trafficking.

The report said the Cuban delegation will be headed by the Director General of the United States Office of the Foreign Ministry, Josefina Vidal; and that of the United States by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US for South America and Cuba, Alex Lee.

The officials of the Cuban government will also meet to discuss drug trafficking with several U.S. agencies that includes, the State Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Coast Guard.

The report stated further that meeting will focus on “discussing ways to stop the illegal flow of narcotics to and from Cuba and the United States, and exploring ways in which the two countries can cooperate in this matter,” the State Department said.

It also noted that Cuban Foreign Ministry has argued that it will reiterate its opposition to the Cuban Adjustment Act and related regulations, like the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy and the Parole Program for Cuban medical professionals, which encourages illegal emigration to the United States.

The migration dialogue has its roots in the agreements established in the 1990s, in which both countries committed themselves to maintain a “safe, legal and orderly” immigration and meet every six months to review the implementation of these agreements.

The last session of the migration dialogue was held here in January, another meeting that was scheduled a few months later, was postponed until now because it would have coincided with the reopening of embassies in the respective capitals, adds an official note by the State Department