US-Cuba talks - deportation, diplomats and decades-old dogma dominate

US-Cuba talks: deportation, diplomats and decades-old dogma dominate
US wants Cubans to have unfettered access to future embassy in Havana
while Cuba seeks removal from state terrorism list in second day of talks
theguardian.com, Thursday 22 January 2015 21.58 GMT

Thw US and Cuba clashed over immigration at start of historic talks.
The US and Cuba are trying to eliminate obstacles to normalized ties as
the highest-level US delegation to the communist island in more than
three decades holds a second day of talks with Cuban officials.

US objectives during Thursday's session include the lifting of
restrictions on American diplomats in Cuba and assurances that Cubans
will have unfettered access to a future US embassy in Havana. The
Americans say the resumption in full diplomatic relations depends on how
quickly its requests are met. Cuba is demanding its removal from a US
list of state sponsors of terrorism, which Washington says it is
considering.

On Wednesday, the US said it dispatched additional ships to the Florida
Straits to halt Cuban rafters but rebuffed demands for broader changes
to US migration rules that grant virtually automatic legal residency to
any Cuban who touches US soil.

Related: Russian intelligence ship docks in Havana day before US-Cuba talks

Cuba's government blames the cold war policy for luring tens of
thousands of Cubans a year to make perilous journeys by land and sea to
try to reach the United States. Still, many Cubans are worried the
elimination of the rules would take away their chance to have a better
life in the US.

In Washington, US Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson said America's
"wet foot, dry foot" approach, which generally shields Cubans from
deportation if they reach US territory, remains in effect. But he
stressed that those trying to come illegally would most likely be
interdicted and returned.

US officials reported a spike in the number of rafters attempting to
reach Florida after the 17 December announcement that the countries
would move to normalize ties. Those numbers appear to have slowed in
recent days.

"Cuba wants a normal relationship with the US, in the broadest sense but
also in the area of migration," said Cuba's head of North American
affairs, Josefina Vidal. She called for the US to end "exceptional
treatment that no other citizens in the world receive, causing an
irregular situation in the flow of migrants".

American officials instead pressed Cuba to take back tens of thousands
of its nationals whom US authorities want to deport because they have
been convicted of crimes. No progress was made on that issue, according
to an official present in the meeting. The official wasn't authorized to
speak on the matter and demanded anonymity.

The talks Thursday are expected to focus on the broader question of how
the US and Cuba can end a half-century of enmity – as promised by
Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro last month. The nations hope to
re-establish embassies and post ambassadors to each other's capitals in
the coming months.

After meeting with the Cubans for more than three hours, the State
Department's Alex Lee said the "discussions prove that despite clear
differences that remain between our countries, the United States and
Cuba can find opportunities to advance our mutual, shared interests as
well as engage in respectful and thoughtful dialogue."

Lee led the US delegation ahead of Wednesday afternoon's arrival of
Roberta Jacobson, the top American diplomat for Latin America and most
senior US official to visit Cuba since 1980.

Somma, spokesman for the Coast Guard's 7th district in Miami, said
"aggressively" stepped-up patrols have eased the increase in rafters
seen immediately after the twin announcements last month by Castro and
Obama.

"We have seen a slowdown in the last two weeks," he said.

Source: US-Cuba talks: deportation, diplomats and decades-old dogma
dominate | World news | theguardian.com -
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/us-cuba-talks-restrictions-american-diplomats