A planned visit this week by Cuban Border Guard officials to U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington has been canceled after complaints from Republican members of Congress. However, the Cuban delegation, which arrived Wednesday, will still be allowed to tour port facilities in North Carolina due to concerns that suspending the entire visit could trigger retaliation from Cuban authorities, congressional sources told the Miami Herald. Initially, officials from Cuba’s Interior, Transportation and Foreign Relations ministries were expected to meet with Coast Guard officials at the agency’s headquarters and tour U.S. port facilities in Wilmington, North Carolina, as part of the United States’ International Port Security Program, the State Department said.
But following calls from members of Congress to cancel the entire event, Department of Homeland Security officials replied that the U.S. Coast Guard feared that doing so could make the island authorities less willing to accept repatriated migrants interdicted at sea, according to congressional staffers who asked to remain anonymous to discuss information they were not authorized to comment on publicly.
Migration from Cuba across the Florida Straits increased dramatically last year, as did the number of Cubans coming through the U.S.-Mexico border, as increased government repression and an economic crisis pushed young people to flee the island.
The agenda for the two-day visit includes meetings with the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a tour of the port complex in Wilmington and a ship ride.
Read more at:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/na...icas/cuba/article272638953.html#storylink=cpy
