The U.S. State Department announced today that its highest-ranking envoy yet (under the Obama administration) will travel to Cuba to participate in fresh talks on migration issues. The spokesman’s office reported:
U.S. and Cuban representatives will meet in Havana to discuss implementation of the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords. The discussions will focus on how best to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration between Cuba and the United States. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Craig Kelly will lead the U.S. delegation, which includes representatives of the agencies involved in managing migration issues.
The talks, which are the second round on this subject since their suspension in 2003, will take place on Friday. Before the suspension, officials of Kelly’s level regularly went to Havana for this type of dialogue, so this is not groundbreaking—just another reversal of the previous administration’s policies.
(AFP Photo of Craig Kelly)