US-Cuba Immigration Talks To Resume: Official

WASHINGTON — Cuba has agreed to resume talks with the Obama administration on legal immigration of Cubans to the United States and direct mail service between the two countries, a State Department official said Sunday.

The communist government notified the U.S. on Saturday that it had accepted an administration overture made May 22 to restart the immigration talks, suspended by President George W. Bush after the last meeting in 2003. Cuba also expressed a willingness to cooperate with the U.S. on fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, and on hurricane disaster preparedness.

The official, who spoke to reporters just before Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton left on a trip to El Salvador and Honduras, said the Cuban response was a positive development and "clear signal" that the administration and the Havana government are willing to engage.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the time and place for the resumed talks have not been determined.

The State Department said earlier this month it had proposed restarting the discussions to "reaffirm both sides' commitment to safe, legal and orderly migration, to review trends in illegal Cuban migration to the United States and to improve operational relations with Cuba on migration issues."

In April, President Barack Obama rescinded restrictions on travel to Cuba by Americans with family there and on the amount of money they can send to their relatives on the island.

The latest development comes ahead of Clinton's participation at a meeting Tuesday in Honduras where Cuba's possible readmission to the Organization of American States is expected to be discussed.

U.S. officials say they are ready to support lifting the resolution that suspended Cuba from the 34-country group. But they insist on linking the island's readmission to democratic reforms under a charter the organization adopted in 2001.

Before the U.S.-Cuban talks were suspended in 2003, the twice-yearly meetings in alternating countries had been the highest level contacts between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations. Cuban officials were angered when the Bush administration decided to scuttle the talks on grounds they were not crucial for monitoring agreements aimed at preventing a mass exodus from the island.

The talks were created so the countries could track adherence to 1994 and 1995 accords designed to promote legal, orderly migration between the two countries. The aim was to avoid a repeat of the summer of 1994, when tens of thousands of Cubans took to the sea in flimsy boats.

On U.S.-Cuban mail, previously material between the countries had to go through third countries. The post office advises people to check with the Treasury Department for rules governing what can be sent to Cuba.

Comments

[JohnTy]

Comparing Cuba with the South of France is frankly ridiculous. Let us look at some recent Caribbean statistics:

Barbados 145,000 visitors Jan-March 2009
Cancun 428,000 visitors Jan-Feb
Dominican Republic 1,175,800 Jan-March 2009
Jamaica 309,000 Jan-Feb 2009
Cuba 809,000 Jan-March
US Virgin Island 122,000 Jan-Feb

I don't have the figures for Puerto Rico or Haiti.
I guess they too must be "insignificant"!

[DubyaGump]

Actually quite a lot of Europeans visit Cuba.

[avocats]

So, perhaps we can treat Cubans like all the other people of the world now? Rather than giving them special status? There is absolutely no reason for this ridiculous "wet foot/dry foot" policy. If you don't have a visa, don't be coming over here. Thank you.

[Monrocsol]

Maybe the U.S. can get out of my country (Guantanamo)! The U. S. raped the island and its people. You sound as if the U.S. has morality.

[JZ735]

The Obama Admin. and Cuba need to short circuit the Miami Right Wing Cuban Loons.

[loki]

I hope its for US citizens immigrating to Cuba. Once our Ivy Greed Educated CEOs and Politicians, and the Neo Cons and religious nuts get done destroying our country, we will need a close place to run to that has hopes of freedoms. And the way things are going, Cuba will soon look like Nirvana compared to the Capitalistic States of America

[dacookson]

The US government doesn't seem to have a problem dealing with Saudia Arabia or China's lack of democracy. It's almost as if they have double standards. No, wait, that can't be right...

[zukervati]

Right on. I can't believe how petty the USA, or at least the ExPat-Cuban-lobby is when it comes to Cuba. We've done business with some of the worst regimes (as you pointed out), but just can't get over this tiny little island South of us. Shame on the American politicians and the ExPats who think that life for an ordinary Cuban was any better under the iron and bloody fist of Batista and his henchmen! If we had engaged this regime thirty years ago, we'd be sipping Mojitos and toking Cohiba Esplendido in the finest casinos in Havana - with the Cuban people, and NOT the dictators, benefiting from our vices!
I'm glad and proud of the fact that our new POTUS is taking on this nonsensical policy.

[JZ735]

The Ex-Pat Cuban crowd are an anarchronism.

[jcko]

Of course there is a double standard:

Cuba has no oil.

Cuba doesn't buy US Debts.

[KCFreedom]

But Cuba has a socialized system of homeopathic medicine.

Our own Big Pharma and Big Insurance sure wouldn't want that to spread to here.

[ArjenBoatsma]

Would this also include a orderly process for Americans that want to emigrate to Cuba?

[Tommygun264]

Cuba has welcomed defectors from the US and other countries in the past. It is a beautiful country populated by a warm and friendly people. This is an effort to establish a more orderly, legal process for cultural exchange. More openness can only accelerate the shift towards capitalism, raise the standard of living for the Cuban people and increase the pressure for a move toward a more democratic society from within.

[strick9]

I don't think a shift toward capitalism might be what they need. Our economy is no longer the shining example it once was. Greed has been our only motivating factor for many years. That this small island 90 miles from our coast has survived all we have thrown at them and have better medical care and virtually no homeless people is a testament to the quality of those left in Cuba. The ex-pat’s want to resume the exploitation that existed before they left. There are many things we could learn from Cuba if we only maintain an open mind and realize we are no longer the center of the universe. Single payer healthcare for all necessary treatment, hurricane preparedness, and to live within our means would be a good start.

[bethel1974]

This is a step in economic recovery for the United States. These talks are important in establishing trade talks and jobs being created and industries being saved. Remember Cuba has virtually no foreign investment to speak of (significant investment). No new cars since the 50's, no meaningful tourist industry since the 60's and now meaningful technology upgrades in 40 years. American companies have decades old claims from when Castro took over. Hotels that belong to American companies, sugar and fruit plantations that can be rehabilitated, natural resources that had to be abandoned. From last estimate it is over $1 to $2 trillion dollars to be reclaimed and put back into the U.S. GDP. We will supply and rebuild Cuba in the process lift this country out of the artificial recession that the big boys caused to scare President Obama to bend to their wills he will not and I refuse to bend as well.

[ObamacratInCA]

Great points. GM should sure use some new markets and Cuba could use the investments.

[JohnTy]

No meaningful tourist industry ? - only about 2 million tourists a year and rising!
On a recent visit I am sure I saw quite a few cars that have been manufactured since the 1950's.
Don't think that Cuba is about to roll over and allow US capital a free hand on the island!

[bethel1974]

JohnTy: 2 million tourists a year is nothing compared to the 10-20 million that visit Cabo San Lucas or the 30-50 million that visit the French Riviera every year. Hence the phrase no "meaningful" tourist industry. No significant investments has been made in Cuba since the embargo. They have spotty if not gov't controlled internet, the Medical industry is about the only industry to see any investment at all. But that was under humanitarian efforts from the UN. Please I worked for CItibank and know for a fact that they haved loaned Cuba money through an UN program. They themselves (Cuba) has asked for bids to help them bring their oil fields back up and help with new discoveries because they know the oil is there just no money to do anything about it.

[We-Are-The-Ones]

Wonder what the Repubes will find to complain about this.

This is amazing progress. I am so proud of the State Department. This seems to be Hillary Clinton's forte. What a wonderful choice Obama made.

[sheilaofmiami]

Slowly but surely. All my Cuban friends here have family they want to reconnect with.

[LMPE]

It's about time.

[steamboat]

When Cuba lets their baseball players come to the USA to play pro ball without having to defect and sneak-away then and only then will I take this seriously.

[Ergon]

So you can exploit their vast pool of amazing (and steroid free) players, right.
See the recent movie "Sugar". For all those who love the game.

[steamboat]

Actually its the Cubans who exploit them. In international play as well as at home. And they get peanuts. Whereas we'll make them filthy rich. I'd like to get exploited like that.

[JessWonderin]

We trade and freely travel to China, Viet Nam and the Soviet Union (or what's left . . ) but still find "Cuba" so dangerous that we depend on a gang of rich organized self serving "exiles" to dictate our relationship with Cuba???

Seems if we can have open relationship with nations that had the capacity to destroy the world and actually KILLED thousands of Americans, we might be able to handle a broke ass island prepared to send cancer causing cigars and mind altering rum to our shores . . . .