The US Embassy in Cuba resumes its consular services

The United States Embassy in Cuba has reported this Wednesday that it has resumed a large part of consular services for the first time since its suspension in 2017, when Washington decided to withdraw its diplomatic presence on the island after several diplomats fell ill after suffering the well-known ‘Havana syndrome’.

The diplomatic legation has now confirmed that it will once again accept visa applications for Cuban migrants, although it will give priority to those citizens who request permission to meet with their relatives in US territory, as confirmed by the state broadcaster NPR.

The resumption occurs as the migratory flow from Cuba increases significantly, which has increased pressure on the Administration of US President Joe Biden, which has made more legal ways available to Cubans to access the country as it seeks to resume the dialogue with the Cuban regime despite the historical disputes.

Now, Washington estimates that the authorities will grant about 20,000 visas a year. In December, the US government indicated that 34,675 Cubans had tried to enter the country through the border with Mexico in just one month, 21% more than the 28,848 who tried in October.

The numbers have been increasing over the months, and Cubans now form the second population group -after Mexicans- that gathers at the southern border of the United States with the aim of requesting asylum.

With information from La Gaceta de la Iberosfera