Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Factions' statement: The attendees agreed to support and continue implementing the ceasefire agreement measures, including the withdrawal of the occupation and lifting the siege.
Factions' statement: Calling for an end to all forms of torture and violations against prisoners in occupation prisons and the necessity of obligating the occupation to do so.
Statement: The current moment is crucial, making the meeting a true turning point toward national unity in defense of our people and their right to life, dignity, and freedom.
Factions' statement: Call for an urgent meeting of all Palestinian forces and factions to agree on a national strategy.
Factions' statement: Continuing joint work to unify visions and positions to confront the challenges facing the Palestinian cause.
Statement of the factions: Emphasis on the unity of the Palestinian political system and the independent national decision.
Statement: Approval to establish an international committee to oversee the financing and implementation of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Statement: The committee is responsible for managing life and services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions, based on transparency and accountability.
Resistance factions' statement: Agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a temporary Palestinian committee of independent technocrats.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two people martyred in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle in Toul.

US reopening visa, consular services at Havana Embassy

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 4 Jan 2023 11:26
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

The US Embassy in Havana says it is expanding consular operations and restarting the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program.

  • x
  • US consulate in Havana (Reuters)
    US consulate in Havana (Reuters)

Five years after it was closed due to alleged mysterious "sonic attacks" on diplomatic staff, the US consulate in Havana resumes full immigrant visa services for Cubans on Wednesday.

The reopening comes amid a record exodus from Cuba to the United States, mainly by undocumented migrants, as Cuba suffers its worst economic crisis in 30 years due to Washington's harsh unlawful sanctions imposed against the Caribbean island.

"The United  States is working to ensure safe, legal, and orderly migration of Cubans by expanding consular operations in Havana and restarting the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP)," the US Embassy in Havana said in a statement last week.

The consulate would open fully for "immigrant visa processing," though tourist visas remain off-limits for now.

The US consulate in Havana was closed under the former US President Donald Trump's administration after diplomatic staff and their families reportedly fell ill with symptoms later nicknamed Havana Syndrome.

Read more: CIA: "Havana Syndrome" likely not caused by foreign power 

No warming of ties

Since Joe Biden replaced Trump as president in 2021, several high-level meetings have sought to find a solution to the migratory standoff. In May last year, the consulate resumed "limited" visa services.

Jorge Duany, a Cuba specialist at the Florida International University, considered that the talks were "limited to migration issues" and did not indicate a general warming of ties.

"For the time being the changes in American policy towards the island have been minimal," Duany indicated.

Related News

Trump plans 'Golden Fleet' to modernize US Navy: WSJ

After long delay, Hakeem Jeffries endorses Mamdani for NYC mayor

Cuba has been under US sanctions for 60 years. After a four-year relaxation during the presidency of Barack Obama, relations deteriorated under his successor Trump, who reinforced sanctions. 

Despite election promises, Biden has not reversed the measures, in fact hardening his speech following US-backed anti-government riots on the island in July 2021.

Washington has kept Cuba on its so-called list of countries deemed "sponsors of terrorism" and recently added it to another of countries "undermining religious freedom."

The Caribbean island nation was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, which crippled its critical tourism sector. Remittances sent from abroad — which in 2019 reached $3.7 billion and is another vital source of income for Cubans — also largely dried up in recent years with travel blocked.

"There is a direct link between the upsurge of extreme (US) measures against the Cuban economy and the dramatic migratory flow," Johana Tablada, a senior official in Cuba’s foreign affairs department, told AFP in November.

Last year, Washington gave more than 20,000 visas to Cuban nationals — the first time since 2017 that it complied with a provision under a 1994 bilateral agreement to issue this number every year.

American authorities claim that more than 326,300 Cubans — some 2.9% of the country’s population of 11.2 million — entered the US illegally in the 12 months from December 2021. In 2021, during the pandemic, the number was just 39,000.

Departures shot up since November 2021, when Cuba's ally, Nicaragua, eliminated the visa requirement for islanders, meaning many would-be migrants now fly to the Central American country to start the dangerous trek on foot to the United States.

Cuban FM: US ignored UN vote to lift embargo on Cuba 29 times

It is noteworthy that during his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York in late November 2022, Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez Parilla decried the 60 years of US economic embargo against Cuba which he described as "vast, cruel and immoral."

Parilla explained that "the government of the US is reinforcing pressure on banking institutions, companies, and governments throughout the world that are interested in establishing relations with Cuba, and the US continues to obsessively pursue all sources of foreign exchange coming into the country to bring about the economic collapse of the nation."

The Cuban diplomat recalled that the UNGA had voted 29 times, with an overwhelming majority, to end the "ruthless and unilateral" embargo on Cuba, noting that the US ignored the assembly's decision 29 times.

"Thirty years have now elapsed since the first general assembly voted against this blockade, and at this time, the US continues to ignore the almost unanimous demand from you to cease its illegal and brutal policy against Cuba," Parilla indicated, urging the US to remove the Caribbean island from the list of "state sponsors of terrorism."

Read more: Cuban President discusses bilateral relations with US lawmakers

  • United States
  • Havana
  • Washington
  • US
  • Cuba

Most Read

From previous scenes of the Qassam Brigades targeting an Israeli D9 bulldozer with a Yassin 105 shell, east of Deir al-Balah. (Military Media of the Qassam Brigades)

US knew fatal Rafah blast cause was not Hamas op., says journalist

  • Politics
  • 20 Oct 2025
'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Abu Hamza, the spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, during a speech televised on October 22, 2025 (Al-Quds Brigades Military Media)

Al-Quds Brigades' Abu Hamza mourns leaders, vows continued resistance

  • Politics
  • 22 Oct 2025
US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

  • Africa
  • 23 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Flags of Iran, Russia, and China (IRNA)
Politics

Russia, China, Iran send joint letter to IAEA on Resolution 2231 end

Rubio says UNRWA to play no role in Gaza aid deliveries
Politics

Rubio says UNRWA to play no role in Gaza aid deliveries

Tents are seen at UN school used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, Tuesday, September 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Politics

UN warns of 'lost generation' amid Gaza education crisis

x
Politics

White House pushes to repeal US sanctions on Syria: Report

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS