They have hardly become allies, but Cuba and the US have taken some baby steps toward rapprochement that have people wondering if a breakthrough in relations could be imminent.
Skeptics caution that the Cold War enemies have been here many times before, only to fall back into old recriminations. However, there are signs that views might be shifting on both sides.
In the past week, the two countries have held talks on resuming direct mail service, and announced a July 17 sit-down on migration issues. In May, a US federal judge allowed a convicted Cuban intelligence agent to return to the island. This month, Cuba informed the family of jailed US government subcontractor Alan Gross that it would let a US doctor examine him.
Under the radar, diplomats on both sides describe a sea change in the tone of their dealings.
Josefina Vidal, Cuba’s top diplomat for North American affairs, recently traveled to Washington and met twice with State Department officials — a visit that came right before the announcements of resumptions in the two sets of bilateral talks that had been suspended for more than two years.
“These recent steps indicate a desire on both sides to try to move forward, but also a recognition on both sides of just how difficult it is to make real progress,” said Robert Pastor, a professor of international relations at American University. “These are tiny, incremental gains, and the prospects of going backwards are equally high.”
Among the things that have changed, John Kerry has taken over as US secretary of state and US President Barack Obama no longer has re-election concerns while dealing with the Cuban-American electorate in Florida.
Cuban President Raul Castro, meanwhile, is striving to overhaul Cuba’s economy with a dose of limited free-market capitalism and may feel a need for more open relations with the US.
Several prominent Cuban dissidents have been allowed to travel recently due to Castro’s changes and the trips may have lessened Havana’s worries about the threat posed by dissidents. Likewise, a US federal judge’s decision to allow Cuban spy Rene Gonzalez to return home was met with only muted criticism inside the US.
To be sure, there is still far more that separates the long-time antagonists than unites them.
The State Department has kept Cuba on a list of state sponsors of terrorism and another that calls into question its commitment to fighting human trafficking.
For its part, Cuba continues to denounce Washington’s 51-year-old economic embargo.
And then there is Gross who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for bringing communications equipment to the island illegally. His case has scuttled past engagement efforts, and could do so again, US officials say privately.
Many experts think Obama would face less political fallout if he chose engagement because younger Cuban-Americans seem more open to improved ties.
“In general, there is an open attitude, certainly toward re-establishing diplomatic relations,” said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. “Short of perhaps lifting the embargo ... there seems to be increasing support for some sort of understanding with the Cuban government.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was