Washington responds to Havana: "Meetings will only occur when necessary."

In response to the concern expressed by the Cuban Foreign Ministry regarding the lack of communication with the administration of Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of State assured that contacts with the government of Havana will be established only when necessary.

"When the United States needs to meet with the Cuban government, we do so," he replied in an email sent to Martí Noticias.

The response came after comments from Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, who addressed the lack of dialogue with Washington regarding the deportations.

In statements to Reuters, De Cossío indicated that the Trump administration has not yet addressed the issue of immigration nor discussed the possibility of increasing deportations, emphasizing that "there has been no such request from the government of the United States."

Additionally, the communist official recalled that the current migration agreements between the two countries provide for the repatriation of Cubans deported via air and sea, but that mass deportations were never anticipated.

The regime and the doubt of Carlos Fernández de Cossío

In the mentioned interview with the agency Reuters, Carlos Fernández de Cossío also denied any discussions regarding a possible increase in the volume of deportations, something that was made clear thanks to the response received by Martí Noticias.

"There has been no such request from the U.S. government," he said. "We have not yet sat down to discuss whether that would be possible," he added.

Deportations of Cubans to the island

According to the current immigration agreements, which date back to the 1980s, Cuba has routinely accepted immigrants deported from the United States by air and sea.

Since Trump took office on January 20, a flight with 104 deported citizens arrived on the island.

However, Fernando de Cossío warns that "the large-scale deportations of Cubans who were initially legally admitted to the United States were never contemplated in the migration agreements between both countries."

Such a statement suggests that the regime would not make it easy for the U.S. government to return Cubans who are beneficiaries of programs like the humanitarian parole.

The deputy minister pointed out that when the agreements were signed, the possibility that the United States would admit and then deny entry to people was not considered reasonable at that time.

It is expected that both nations will resume dialogue in April in Washington, although Fernández de Cossío has expressed that, so far, the U.S. administration has not officially confirmed the holding of this meeting.

Cuba blames the U.S. for encouraging migration

For decades, the Cuban government has argued that the United States promotes the mass migration of citizens from the island by implementing a combination of measures that include economic sanctions and migration policies favorable to Cubans.

According to the authorities in Havana, the measures aim to economically suffocate the country, leading to an internal crisis that forces thousands of Cubans to seek better living conditions abroad.

They also argue that U.S. laws provide Cubans a more accessible path to citizenship compared to other nationalities, which serves as an additional incentive for emigration.

The Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs has emphasized this point and noted that Cubans arriving in the United States do so under more favorable conditions compared to other migrants.

"They did not tear down a wall, nor did they have to jump a fence to enter the United States; they were invited," declared the official, emphasizing that Washington's immigration policies favor Cubans over other groups of migrants.

However, the United States government has a diametrically opposed vision.

From Washington, the Cuban communist government is directly held responsible for the current migration crisis, arguing that the island's administration has poorly managed the economy and systematically violated the human rights of its population.

U.S. officials have noted that the lack of political freedoms, repression against opponents, and the internal economic crisis, worsened by poor state management, are the true reasons behind the Cuban exodus.

The Cuban migration crisis has intensified in recent years, reaching unprecedented figures.

Since 2020, more than a million Cubans have left the island, which represents approximately 10% of the country's total population.

This phenomenon, according to analysts, has few parallels in times of peace and is only comparable to massive migration movements that occurred in the context of war or severe humanitarian crises.

Currently, Cubans represent one of the main groups of migrants crossing the border between the United States and Mexico.

Many of them have entered the United States through the legal admission programs promoted during Joe Biden's administration, while others have resorted to irregular means to reach U.S. soil.

Frequently asked questions about deportations and relations between the U.S. and Cuba