The foreign minister tweeted that Washington’s political decision costs human lives.
On his Twitter account, Rodriguez recalled the impact of the closure of the Havana consulate, which led to the suspension of visa processing and granting in the Cuban capital and the transfer of those procedures to third countries.
The head of Cuban diplomacy noted the Cuban Adjustment Act is still in force, which was passed by Washington in 1966 in order to encourage Cubans to leave the country illegally by putting their lives in danger, with the aim of becoming US residents. Alleged health incidents suffered by US diplomats accredited in Cuba were used in 2017 to justify the reduction in the personnel by more than 60 percent and effectively close the US Consulate.
In a statement issued in March, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed Washington for failing to comply with the commitment to guarantee the legal migration of a minimum of 20,000 Cubans a year, in the incentives to migration, in addition to the closure of the Consulate and the enforcement of the Cuban Adjustment Act.
In this regard, Rodriguez ratified Cuba’s willingness to continue working to prevent irregular, unsafe and disorganized migration, and prevent migration that puts human lives in danger.
He also expressed the willingness to fight violence related to this phenomenon and crimes such as human trafficking and the illegal trafficking of migrants.
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