Embassy of the United States of America in Cuba, March 3, 2022 AMANDA PEROBELI / REUTERS
The US Consulate in Cuba will resume operations, Timothy Zuniga-Brown said on Thursday, March 3, at the United States Embassy in Havana.
“We are pleased to announce that the United States Embassy in Havana will begin the limited resumption of some migrant visa services as part of the gradual expansion of embassy services,” the diplomat told the press. “Migrant visa services are a safe and legal way to reunite families,” divided between Cuba and the United States, he insisted.
The measure, which will be accompanied by the return to Cuba of more US diplomats, will “aim at facilitating diplomatic engagement, engaging with (Cuban) civil society and increasing the provision of consular services,” he added, without to give a specific date.
Havana Syndrome
The announcement comes as, under the influence of the pandemic and the intensification of US sanctions, Cuba goes through its worst economic crisis in thirty years, forcing many residents to seek emigration at all costs, some by sea but most of Central America, to climb the American border.
A dangerous and complicated eviction since the closure of the consulate in September 2017, ordered by Donald Trump due to alleged health incidents – called “Havana Syndrome” – affected diplomats stationed on the island. U.S. officials say at least 24 of them suffered between the end of 2016 and August 2017 from migraines, nausea and mild brain damage, which they said was caused by advanced hearing aids.
For Cubans, obtaining a visa to the United States has since become an obstacle, with the obligation to travel through a third country at their own expense to apply. “As we work to achieve this goal, the embassy in Georgetown, Guyana, will continue to be the main point of processing for Cuban migrant visa applications,” the interim commissioner said on Thursday.
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