Cuba and the United States have dramatically reduced the rate of human trafficking since reaching a landmark accord in January but risk losing those gains if the two neighbors fail to resume high-level talks, Cuban Interior Ministry officials said in an exclusive interview.
During bilateral talks in the final days of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, the United States agreed on Jan. 12 to end a longstanding policy of admitting Cubans who set foot on U.S. soil, a move aimed at discouraging them from taking a dangerous voyage on the high seas.
The “wet foot, dry foot” policy was one example of the special welcome the U.S. government extended to Cubans as it sought to isolate the island’s Communist government, and its repeal marked the culmination of Obama’s rapprochement with America’s former Cold War rival.
Since President Donald Trump assumed power on Jan. 20 with promises to review the detente, high-level bilateral talks have ground to a halt. In the meantime, smuggling rings have been trying to reorganize and consolidate, Cuban officials said, seeking new ways to sneak Cubans and other foreign nationals into the United States.
Read the whole story from Reuters.
Cuba and the United States have dramatically reduced the rate of human trafficking since reaching a landmark accord in January but risk losing those gains if the two neighbors fail to resume high-level talks, Cuban Interior Ministry officials said in an exclusive interview.
During bilateral talks in the final days of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, the United States agreed on Jan. 12 to end a longstanding policy of admitting Cubans who set foot on U.S. soil, a move aimed at discouraging them from taking a dangerous voyage on the high seas.
The “wet foot, dry foot” policy was one example of the special welcome the U.S. government extended to Cubans as it sought to isolate the island’s Communist government, and its repeal marked the culmination of Obama’s rapprochement with America’s former Cold War rival.
Since President Donald Trump assumed power on Jan. 20 with promises to review the detente, high-level bilateral talks have ground to a halt. In the meantime, smuggling rings have been trying to reorganize and consolidate, Cuban officials said, seeking new ways to sneak Cubans and other foreign nationals into the United States.
Read the whole story from Reuters.
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