Resumption of US Consular Services in Cuba Campaign to Start Soon

The national coordinator of the Antonio Maceo Brigade made the announcement Wednesday in Havana

The national coordinator of the Antonio Maceo Brigade, Andrés Gómez, announced Wednesday that they will soon launch a campaign to demand the reopening of U.S. consular services in Cuba.

The leader of the Miami-based organization told the press in Havana that Washington’s reasons for making such a decision were invented, and he described the shutting down of the services as ridiculous and harmful to the interests of Cuban families.

Citing the alleged health incidents affecting U.S. diplomats on the island, the Trump Administration removed most of its embassy officials in Cuba, and expelled a dozen diplomats from the island’s Embassy in Washington.

The State Department also urged US citizens not to travel to Cuba and in December the White House permanently closed its office of the Citizenship and Immigration Service in Havana.

“To permanently migrate to the United States, Cubans now have to go to Guyana and for temporary visits they must go to Mexico City and other cities abroad to get a visa, and this is unacceptable,” Gómez said.

He added that the State Department only issued 6,000 visas last year, of the at least 20,000 established by the Migratory Agreement between the two countries which seeks to achieve an orderly and safe migration between the two nations.