Analyzing the meaning of the day, Reinier Duardo pointed to the re-election of Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Marco Rubio and Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, as signs that a deepening of hate speech and tightening of the blockade is coming.

There, Trump’s legacy remains particularly alive, while a woman like Nancy Pelosi – who welcomed Juan Guaidó and enthusiastically applauded him in Congress – is accused of being a leftist and they try to kill her. This confirms what has been said more than once from Cuba: it is up to us to break the blockade, because the newly elected officials and their lobbyists will do everything to make it worse. The neighbor’s policy continues to steer the extreme right, at least in its area closest to Cuba.

Bárbara Betancourt agrees with this criterion, who points to the signs of the show prior to the moment of the vote, feverish by the euphoria of the haters, the threatening speech against those who dissent and the call to support DeSantis, one of the most ineffective politicians in the United States. States, governor of a failed state, as proven during the pandemic and more recently before, during and after Hurricane Ian. Worse yet: DeSantis is a presidential candidate, as Trump was before he became president, and many believed that it would be impossible. It is dramatically true and it is not good for anyone, except for his followers who already know what size of hate they wear.

In the midst of this republican euphoria, AméricaTV broadcasts a piece of news that the presenters describe as unusual: a Cuban steals a fishing boat from his work to go to Cuba, because “he is tired of living in the United States…”. Stranded in North American waters, he asks for help and they have arrested him.

Although emigration in the opposite direction is common, there are not so few who, after having emigrated, cannot bear to live in the United States and try to return as best they can. The detail of interest is that he steals the boat. Why? Suppose he didn’t have the money to pay for a ticket, or perhaps he thought that if the Miami media praises those who steal ships in Cuba, they will get equal treatment for their journey.

What is really known about the last person who stole a small plane to leave Cuba is that he must be repatriated and that the plane will be returned. Cuba has denounced many times over the years what happens when emigration is stimulated with economic suffocation measures and legal roads become more expensive or closed. Just another reason to thoroughly reassess the immigration issue and the policies that have fueled these practices for so long.
In conclusion, it is very important that the agreements are resumed and the United States does its part. Like Cuba.

(By: Arleen Rodríguez Derivet/Cubadebate)

The president of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, is the target of strong criticism on social networks after declaring that in her country there is a shortage of workers and that illegal immigrants should be used as labor labor in the crops.

This Friday, during a press conference, Pelosi criticized the governors of the southern states of the country that send undocumented immigrants to the cities of the northern regions.

“We have a responsibility to protect our (southern) border, but we also have a responsibility to recognize the importance of newcomers to our nation. Right now, the best thing we can do for our economy is comprehensive immigration reform,” she stated.

“We have a shortage of workers in our country, and even in Florida, some of the farmers and growers are saying, ‘Why are you sending these immigrants north? We need them to harvest the crops here,’” the congresswoman assured.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t recognize our moral responsibility,” she added.

Many Twitter users criticized the Speaker of the House of Representatives, accusing her of brazenly admitting that her country should benefit from cheap immigrant labor.

“A massive and uncontrolled wave of illegal immigration doesn’t solve anything, but that’s how they think,” wrote one netizen.

“How come these people say this kind of thing publicly without hesitation? They really believe that immigrants are nothing more than cheap labor for the US. They can no longer bring them from Africa and now they are tempting them to come from Latin America with false promises, ”criticized another user.

While former Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno tweeted: “Elite Democrats think Hispanics are only good at picking their crops. Legal Hispanics will respond forcefully in November and send Nancy and many other radical Democrats home.”

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, for its part, considers that the massive flow of immigrants helps the Democratic Party in two aspects: “More future voters and cheap foreign labor.”

(With information from RT in Spanish)

Without specifying a date for the resumption of procedures, he explained that the consular section will offer essential services to US citizens and will process emergency visas for non-immigrants, detailed a Cuban television report.

Quoted by AFP, he announced that appointments for immigrant visas will only be scheduled for those who have presented their complete documentation, but that, in the transition period, “the main place of processing for applicants” for visas will be Georgetown, Guyanese.

The drastic reduction of the staff of the US embassy was a decision of the Donald Trump administration in 2017, when, to damage bilateral relations, it used as a pretext the alleged sonic attacks on diplomats of that nation, an absurdity that, after five years, neither scientists nor authorities have confirmed.

The decision to restrict consular services has affected both Cuban and US citizens who depend on those services, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in late 2018.

Since then, the persecution of our banking-financial relations has increased, remittances have been restricted, individual trips by US citizens have been annulled, cruise ships and direct flights to Cuban airports, except Havana, have been prohibited; The leasing of aircraft with more than 10% US components and the acquisition of technologies and equipment in similar condition were prevented, and commercial promotion activities, cultural and educational exchanges ceased.

In January of this year, the deputy director of the General Directorate of the United States of the Minrex, Johana Tablada de la Torre, denounced that every time the United States has played politically with the migratory issue, cycles of illegal departures occur.

As reported on its website by the Ministry of the Interior, in 2021 there was a high lethality in repeated shipwrecks, with the eventual presence of minors, psychological traumas with lifelong consequences, whose most complex operations are organized from the United States, whose Government in recent years has not guaranteed even the minimum of 20,000 visas established by the migratory agreements between the two countries, and which committed them to work for a legal, orderly and safe migratory flow.

Cuba considers the announcement on the total resumption of visas a positive step

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla described the United States’ decision as a “positive step” by announcing that, in early 2023, its Embassy in Havana will resume full processing of immigrant visas for the first time since 2017.

The processing of Cuban family reunification will also be accelerated and there will be an increase in the staff of the diplomatic office in Havana.

A note published on the website of the US Embassy indicates that, as part of the expansion of regular routes, the need for Cubans who apply for immigrant visas in family preference categories to travel outside Cuba, to Georgetown, Guyana, will be eliminated. for your interviews.

He adds that these steps are part of the Migration Agreements between the United States and Cuba, to ensure a minimum of 20,000 visas for Cubans each year.

After keeping the service suspended for more than four years, in March of this year the US reported the restart of the issuance of visas in a limited and gradual manner.

The measure to restrict consular services has had an impact on illegal migration, as the agreements between the two countries, based on a legal, orderly and safe flow, have not been complied with.

(With information from Granma)

It refers that those people participated in eight illegal departures from the country between the end of May and June 3 by the sea, most of them in rustic means, putting their lives at risk.

Some of them even stole a boat linked to the Santa Cruz del Norte Sport Fishing Base, in Mayabeque (east of Havana).

With them, 313 people were returned by the US authorities in 2021, the press release refers.

The communiqué further states that the Cuban government has insisted on the need for strict compliance with the Cuba – US Joint Declaration on migration issues, dated on January 12, 2017.

Such agreement embodied the bilateral commitment to prevent irregular migration and prevent risky departures from Cuba, combat related acts of violence, and resolutely discourage related illegalities.

It also provides for the promotion of effective bilateral cooperation to thwart and prosecute human trafficking and related crimes.

The MININT’s text also refers that in accordance with the letter of that deal, Cuba reiterates and defends regular, safe and orderly migration, and urges the US side to comply with the commitment to guarantee the legal transfer from Cuba of a minimum of 20,000 people per year.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

“The closure of the U.S. Consulate in Havana, the transfer of services to third countries and the maintenance of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 threaten safe, orderly and regular migration,” the Foreign Minister stated, in a clear allusion to the causes that lead to regrettable events such as the recent rescue of eight persons and the recovery of two bodies following the sinking of their boat near Key West, Florida.

The survivors, who were part of a group of illegal immigrants attempting to reach the U.S. coast from Cuba, warned that another ten people remain missing after the accident.

How many more lives must be sacrificed in the name of absurd and criminal measures meant to force the Cuban people to surrender and put an end to the Revolution?

As part of the escalation of aggressive policies toward the island in March of 2019, the U.S. government announced a reduction, for Cuban citizens, of the time B2 visas remain valid, from five years to three months, with a single entry.

The measure came in addition to the unjustified interruption of access to visas for Cubans on the island, forcing them to travel to third countries to apply, with no guarantee that a visa would be granted, along with continued U.S. non-compliance with the visa quota established by Migration Agreements.

(Taken from Granma)

This is why the Ministry of Communications established Resolution 141/2020 outlining general guidelines to make this process viable within Central State Administration bodies and agencies, the Central Bank of Cuba, the General Customs of the Republic, the Institute of Physical Planning and the National Statistics and Information Office, which include a schedule that began in 2020 and must be completed by 2024.

According to the document, the migration involves operating systems of technological nodes, servers and private data centers supporting computer systems, as well as personal desktop and laptop computers, all of which are connected to the Internet.

On the other hand, each one of the above mentioned organizations and institutions must prepare their own migration schedules in order to guarantee completion of the process by December 2024, and are obliged to establish contractual relationships with developers and other entities, to ensure technical advisory services and training of their personnel.

(Taken from Granma)

This is confirmed by the fact that a total of 623,831 Cubans living abroad visited the country in 2019, “evidence of the strengthening of ties between Cuba and its citizens,” said Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who added on his Twitter account that 552,816, of that total, came from the United States.

Hostile U.S. actions, which remain in effect, hinder the normal flow of Cubans traveling abroad and those traveling to Cuba, particularly to and from the United States, thus making normal communication among Cuban families difficult, confirming the Foreign Minister’s statement: “Cuba opens and the United States closes.”

According to Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, director of Consular Affairs and Cubans Living Abroad at the Foreign Ministry, more than three million arrivals to national territory by Cubans living abroad have been recorded over the last six years.

This trend also represents the reality of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s comments in September of 2018, when he met with 150 Cuban residents in the United States, in New York, and stated: “We are counting on you. We are Cuba.”

This commitment has also been reflected in work carried out by the 166 associations of Cubans living in 79 countries, which support the country’s principal international objectives, Soberón stated, reaffirming at the XIII Regional Conference of Cubans in Europe, at the end of 2018, that the strengthening of relations between the island and its citizens abroad is a continuous and irreversible process.

To further strengthen these ties between the government and Cubans living abroad, Havana will host the Fourth Conference on Nation and Emigration April 8-10, 2020, at a time when the United States is reinforcing its attacks with unilateral measures restricting commercial flights to Cuba.

(Granma)

From Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Syria, Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, Gambia… they come, heading to Europe, to the former colonial powers that plundered their countries.

How to reach the continent is more uncertain. Exposed to Mediterranean crossings crowded into vessels of all kinds, they pay sums that range from 3,000 to 8,000 euros. Migrants must sell everything they have, if they have anything, or offer themselves as modern day slaves, subjected to various forms of abuse.

Hundreds of thousands arrive, but thousands do not reach their desired destination; they perish drowning or attacked by sharks in the vast graveyard that the Mediterranean has become. The exact number is not known.

This description is only part of the reality, which includes the refusal of some European countries to accept them, the inhospitable camps where they are taken, deportations, imprisonment, walls topped with barbed wire along borders to prevent their moving from one nation to another. Not to mention, racism and xenophobia that continue within a capitalist social system based on exploitation.

Libya, a North African country that has become ungovernable, is used as the launching point for migrants looking to reach Europe. There, the International Organization for Migration warns of “the purchasing of many immigrants as if they were veritable slaves,” in the 21st century; but now with dollars and euros used by the trafficking mafias operating with impunity in the nation.

The issue was addressed during the recent Brussels Summit, where disagreement between countries in southern Europe and those to the center and north has created a major rupture within the European Union. Italy and Greece feel alone as they face the arrival of thousands of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, while nations in the north and center of the continent accuse them of failing to police their Mediterranean coastlines.

Jean Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, commented on the issue, stressing “the fragility of the European Union is increasing – cracks are growing in size, we need to find a consistent response now to the migration crisis.”

This was evident when, during the Summit, it was agreed that all members would help rescued migrants, but no details were established as to who would do so, or how. Similarly, all agreed on the creation of “secure migration centers,” where those seeking asylum for “genuine” reasons would be identified, and irregular migrants housed until they were returned to their countries of origin.

The accord, however, does not clarify in which states these centers will be located. And more controversial is the lack of any explanation as to how a “secure center” is defined, leading many to fear the proliferation of prison camps for immigrants who reach Europe, according to BBC Mundo.

An approach that is more than a little late is the idea presented by some European leaders of promoting greater investment in Africa, to help the continent achieve substantive socio-economic change, so people do not leave their countries in search of a better life.

We can only hope that the adage “better late than never” holds true, and that African nations receive foreign investment and other forms of collaboration to at least reduce hunger and disease. May the chilling UNICEF figures be taken into consideration, like those indicating that every day, across the continent, 2,600 babies die in the first 24 hours of their lives. Ethiopia and Tanzania top the list of the world’s countries with the highest neonatal mortality rates.

To date, the many summits on the migration issue have yet to show positive results.

As long as the focus remains on palliative measures, and the root of the problem is ignored, migration will continue to be a nightmare for Europe. Or more accurately, as long as the debt owed Africa and colonized countries for centuries of exploitation is not paid, these so-called solutions will be no more than band-aids and mercurochrome for a deep wound.

According to official data, more than 65.6 million persons around the world have been obliged to abandon their homes because of internal conflicts and precarious living conditions. Of this total, some 22.5 million are refugees, with half of these being under 18 years of age.

Solving the equation does not require much mathematical knowledge, or that of any other kind. Underway is massive emigration from impoverished countries, whose resources have been plundered and where infant mortality is measured in double digits. In many of these, governmental chaos, internecine conflicts, religious discord, and the lack of investment to overcome underdevelopment are constants in everyday life – with no future in sight.

Millions take their chances at sea, to seek a different destiny, so life has some meaning.

(Granma)

Etched in his memory is July 4, 1962, the day he boarded Pan American Airways Flight 422, at 11:45 am. As he climbed the stairway, he wanted to return, and took a few steps back without turning around to see his mother, who had warned him not to take a final look.

He described the trip as frightening, the 45 saddest minutes of his life; there was no consolation. From the steel bird, as he called the plane, he saw the palms grow small, then the sea, and finally an unknown country: the United States.

Traveling with him were 10 other children, all without their families, and unaware that they were victims of Operation Peter Pan – a U.S. orchestrated wave of emigration, caused by distortions and lies disseminated to destroy the Cuban Revolution, during which 14,000 children were taken from the country.
His first days were hard, López recounted, living in a camp of Army tents, among older boys, where abuse and hostility reigned. His supposed protectors, Catholic priests and nuns, found it difficult to control the 500 adolescents, between 12 and 18 years of age, housed at the camp. All kinds of physical violence occurred, even sexual abuse by the priests themselves.

These experiences accentuated his love for Cuba, and after completing his university studies in Tourism, he created the travel agency Interplanner Travels, devoted to promoting group trips from the United States to socialist states in Eastern Europe. He established close ties with Cuban friendship centers in these nations, where he bought books and music, and heard news of the Revolution.

How did the first trip to Cuba come about?
Given my relationship with socialist bloc countries, the Cuban mission to the United Nations took interest in my work, during the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977- 1981), who made traveling to the island somewhat easier. I talked with the Cuban diplomats about the possibility of opening up tourism with Cuba. Returning was always in my plans, but I never thought I would do so on the invitation of the revolutionary government.

Direct flights were prohibited, so we flew from Canada in 1978. The first group was composed of professors and workers at Martyrs University in Keith.

To my surprise, on this trip I met the leader Fidel Castro. He visited us at the Hotel Riviera. I was talking with the tourists at the main entrance, where we were waiting for our bus. I suddenly noticed that some in the group changed their expressions, widening their eyes in amazement. I thought I had said something wrong in English, but then I felt someone touch me on the shoulder, like a friend, and when I turned around, I was surprised too, speechless.

Fidel greeted us casually and said we should call him by his first name, as a friend. He took interest in hearing if the academics were feeling good in Cuba and if the tour program was being conducted without difficulty. I never had any problems, not with this group, or any other I brought here.

This type of specialized tourism must have faced obstacles from different administrations? What has been the greatest problem?

One of the most notorious was during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981 -1989). I was ordered to close my office in Washington within 24 hours. We had to close a well-established company.

Fortunately, we kept our contacts and when there was a change at the White House, with the George H.W. Bush administration, we were able to re-establish the exchanges, at first with many more restrictions than at the beginning.

It is always a big problem making bank transfers to Cuba and can wear down anyone who wants to work.

Now with the Donald Trump administration, it’s practically impossible to find a bank to transfer funds. Plus tourists see the travel warning issued by the State Department, which claims that Cuba is not a safe country and that if any accident or illness should occur here, no insurance company would take responsibility.

For this reason, in 2017, we had 30 group cancellations, because no one wanted to travel to a supposedly dangerous location, much less when a government institution says so. They hide behind the alleged sonic attacks. I can tell you that, if they existed, I would be deaf. All we hear is the live music of bands.

In reality, the President is responding to the interests of a miniscule group of Cubans residing in Florida who have created a type of mafia, they amass personal fortunes erecting barriers to bilateral relations. They live off this business, because there are millions of dollars available to finance campaigns against the Cuban Revolution that have no effect.

I never thought I would witness a visit by a U.S. President, but I saw it with Barack Obama. He recognized that the economic blockade policy was not having the desired effect, in terms of overthrowing the Revolution, and therefore sought other strategies.

He didn’t have these bilateral talks because of goodwill or falling in love with Cuba. His tactics involved creating an atmosphere of rapprochement and direct conversations between the two governments. Perhaps a normal relationship could have been achieved with the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, but the current administration is undoing what had been accomplished. The differences between Cuba and the United States are not going to be solved, because the U.S. is obsessed with controlling and colonizing Cuba, just as happened in Puerto Rico.

I see it as a fatal attraction. The Yankee coveting Cuba’s strength.

How do you do promotional work in such a hostile environment, to coordinate group trips to Cuba?
By getting around the obstacles and adjusting to the circumstances. I dedicate hours of my life to conversing, dialoguing, with people. I introduce myself to professional organizations, universities, and other groups to attract them. We promote ourselves on the internet and use the experiences of those who have visited Cuba, since they are always pleasantly surprised.

Many people come with an unfounded fear of Communism. They have expressed absurd opinions, thinking they will be strictly supervised and constantly watched by spies. They think there is no freedom to walk the streets.

I explain that it is a place with a functioning socialist system, very different from other social systems around the world. When they return, they say they never imagined Cuba as a safe country, with no danger whatsoever. They return home excited to have learned of the existence of an educated, well informed people, who know how to settle problems between governments. This bridge of friendship is one that requires daily work.

Why has your love of Cuba been a constant in your work?

My biological parents always taught me to never be a traitor. I believe that when I left Cuba, the family thought I would be coming back soon. It was a five year separation. I felt I had lost my childhood. I promised myself I would return, and recover what had been taken from me, because I did not abandon it.

I was born in Matanzas, and whenever I visit my elementary school, I remember the morning ceremony there, when the children salute the flag in front of a bust of José Martí. This image of lining up every day, separated by the length of our right arms, and then singing the Cuban national anthem, I have never been able to forget.

The life of an immigrant is hard. In my case, I don’t feel I belong on one side or the other. I am in the environment identified as Cuban slash American, but this is not a nationality. I do not consider myself Cuban-American, or a Cuban who is a U.S. citizen. I think my life has been on this long pipeline that never ends. I live there, not on one side or the other.

The people of the country accepted me. They helped me and a family adopted me; they saved me. Now I’m bringing them for the first time. I always remember some of Fidel’s words in a conversation with one of my groups. He told us that even when we weren’t present, this was our home, where we could lay our heads.

The Mulvihill family, residents of New Jersey, told Granma International how they welcomed Alex into their home, until he was reunited with his biological parents.

Kathleen, wife and mother, recalled that, at that time, her husband worked as a Science teacher and talked about a very intelligent and affectionate Cuban boy in one of his classes. Later, they were visited by a social worker, who told them about the adoption process. They thought their two-bedroom house might be too small for another child, since they had two young daughters. (The Mulvihills later moved and two more daughters were born.)

The social worker looked at the living room couch and said they were in perfect conditions to receive Alex. Her husband Michael was 24 and she was 23, so they accepted the challenge, and it turned out to be a very positive experience, Kathleen said.

Michael emphasized that what motivated him was thinking about how hard it must have been for the biological parents to send a child away to another country. Alex quickly became the boy in the house they never had, and grew to be a much-needed member of the family.

Both say that Alex brought much happiness to their home, helping with the care of his little sisters, and later with their homework. Alex taught them to eat black beans, plantains, and other Cuban dishes. When his biological parents, Osvaldo and Victoria, arrived in the United States, they lived close by, became friends, and continued to enjoy Cuban food together.

The couple reported that they made their first visit to Cuba to see the country Alex talked about. They wanted to visit the place where he was born and where he went to school. They were amazed by their interactions with the Cuban people. Kathleen is a nurse – a daughter and grand-daughter have followed in her footsteps – and she praised the attention given pregnant women in Cuba.

Michael commented that he admired Cuba’s educational system, saying he was impressed with the country’s academic achievements.

When asked if they would make a second trip, without hesitation both answered at the same time, affirmatively. •

OPERATION PETER PAN

• Operation Peter Pan was launched by the U.S. government, at the end of 1960, as an attempt to destroy the Cuban Revolution which had triumphed in 1959. Among its principal organizers were James Baker and the priest Bryan O. Walsh. Perhaps the name chosen for the operation, Peter Pan, was fitting given the code name used for Miami: Never, Neverland.

• The maneuvers of these two encouraged parents of 14,000 Cuban children to send them to the U.S. between December of 1960 and October, 1962, using fake news about a supposed law to be enacted giving the revolutionary state parental power over minors.

• A huge media campaign was launched, principally on Radio Swan – a counterrevolutionary broadcaster in the service of U.S. intelligence agencies that could be heard in Cuba – sounding an alarm to frighten mothers October 26, 1960, and calling on them not to allow their children to be stolen.

• Working in Cuba was CIA agent José Pujals Mederos, who wrote the fake law and introduced it in the country, with the support of another CIA operative, Ramón Grau Alsina, nephew of Ramón Graú San Martín, former President during the semi-colonial republic. This team manufactured false passports and visas through the terrible program for unaccompanied minor Cuban refugees that served as the legal framework to allow for the presence of the children in the U.S.

• The children waited long years for family reunification and many were traumatized by physical and emotional harm in the improvised camps, where little professional attention was provided. Analysts point out that parents were not thinking about a reunification in the United States, but rather one in Cuba, with the return of their children after the revolutionary government was overthrown.

(Granma)

According to the source, the meeting took place on March 22 and 23, and it culminated with the signing of a document that reflects the agreements adopted in the working sessions.

The Canadian part was presided over by the Vice President of the Border Services Agency, Jacques Cloutier, while the host delegation was headed by the Director of Consular Affairs and of Cuban Residents Abroad (DACCRE), Ernesto Soberón.

According to the Foreign Ministry of the Caribbean country, the round of talks served to analyze migratory problems of mutual interest and continue to develop mechanisms that contribute to the achievement of a regular, safe and orderly migration.

Also this week, the ambassador of Cuba in Canada, Josefina Vidal, presented her credentials in Ottawa.

Before coming to the capital of the northern nation, Vidal played important roles in Cuban diplomacy, including as Director General of the United States of the Foreign Ministry, a position from which he participated in the process of rapprochement Havana-Washington.

(Prensa Latina)