U.S. Consulate in Cuba to Resume Visa Issuance

The American Embassy in Havana, March 12, 2019 (Illustration photo).

© REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Text by: RFI Follow

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In Cuba, the US consulate, which closed in 2017, will again issue visas for migrants.

This was announced Thursday, March 3 by the charge d'affaires of the embassy.

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The issuance of visas will resume in a limited and gradual manner, announced Timothy Zuniga-Brown, without giving a date.

It must be accompanied by an increase in the number of American diplomats present on the island.

The announcement comes as Cuba is going through its

in 30 years, under the combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and

.

Many Cubans try to leave the island at all costs, mainly passing through Central America to reach the United States.

These attempts had been complicated by the closure in 2017 of the American embassy, ​​following mysterious "sonic attacks" which had

in Havana.

These attempts were also complicated by a sharp cooling in relations between Cuba and the United States after Donald Trump came to power.

Returning to the United States Safely and Legally

Since the closure of the embassy, ​​Cubans must pass, at their own expense, through a third country such as Colombia or Guyana.

Timothy Zuniga-Brown, announcing the resumption of visa issuance, touted " 

 ."

According to the Cuban daily and government organ

, Washington sent back more than 1,000 Cubans to their country last year who had tried to enter the United States without visas.

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• Cuba

• United States

• Diplomacy