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The U.S. mission chief for Cuba, Mike Hammer, met this Saturday at the Vatican with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, in a meeting that was also attended by the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Brian Burch.
According to the official communication, they discussed human rights and political freedom in Cuba. The information was shared by the United States' account at the Holy See on the social network X.
The publication described the exchanges as "important" and thanked Parolin for welcoming the U.S. delegation, at a time when Rome is focusing on contacts and meetings related to the Cuban situation.
In the background: agenda on Cuba
Before that meeting, Hammer had discussed with the Vatican and "Latin American partners" the Trump Administration's support for the Cuban people's quest for "freedom."
During his official visit to Rome, Hammer held meetings with Vatican officials, Italian authorities, and Caritas Internationalis, in addition to giving an interview to EWTN in which he discussed the situation in Cuba and the work of the U.S. administration "through the Catholic Church" to provide humanitarian aid to those affected by Hurricane Melissa in the eastern part of the country.
It also mentions that the U.S. announced 9 million dollars in aid and that it would be willing to contribute more.
The meeting between Hammer and Parolin is known after the Italian media Agenzia Nova reported that the Holy See would be undertaking a diplomatic mediation activity between the United States and Cuba.
That report placed both Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and Hammer in Rome and described an "intense diplomatic activity" regarding Cuba's fate.
The published communication does not provide information about specific agreements, commitments, or timelines resulting from the meeting with Parolin. It also does not clarify whether specific topics were discussed beyond the general reference to human rights and political freedom in Cuba.
The Holy See would be engaging in a diplomatic mediation activity between the United States and Cuba, although sources close to the Vatican's Secretariat of State caution that the situation is "neither a bed of roses nor easy," due to both the complexity of the bilateral relationship and the distance between Pope Leo XIV and U.S. President Donald Trump.
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