Helen Yaffe: History absolves Cuba, as US moves to restore diplomati
On 21 and 22 January, Cuba and the US held direct talks about
restoring diplomatic relations for the first time since 1961,
exploring cooperation on various issues and reviewing existing
migration accords. The meeting in Havana took place one month
after the historic announcements made simultaneously on 17
December 2014 by Presidents Obama and Raul Castro about a thaw in
US-Cuban relations. This included a prisoner swap which finally
freed the remaining Cuban anti-terrorist agents imprisoned in the
US, known as the Cuban Five. The announcements followed 18-months
of secret talks facilitated by Canada and the Vatican. The
tactical change by the US administration reflects the failure of
its Cuba policy, and economic and (geo)strategic developments
which put competitive pressure on US capitalists who do not
benefit from the blockade.
[Josefina Vidal press conference Jan 2015]
The head of Cuba’s delegation, Josefina Vidal, gives a
press conference following talks with US representatives in
Havana in January 2015.
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