Migration talks with Cuba called `constructive'
Discussion focuses on details of departure, not brinksmanship
``We had a comprehensive, constructive and frank discussion,'' State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said in Washington.
Burns said the main purpose of the talks -- which represent the only continuing formal dialogue between senior U.S. and Cuban officials -- is to ensure mutual compliance with immigration agreements in 1994 and 1995 that allow Washington to seize Cuban boat people at sea and return them to the island.
A senior U.S. official declined to say how many Cubans have been repatriated under the accords, but Burns said the process is saving lives. The accords also commit the United States to accept at least 20,000 Cuban immigrants a year.
``These accords are deterring the dangerous outflow of migrants in unseaworthy vessels,'' Burns said. ``At the same time, they are greatly expanding the opportunities for safe, legal and orderly migration from Cuba to the United States consistent with our international obligations.''
The U.S. delegation, led by John Hamilton, deputy assistant secretary of State for inter-American affairs, pressed Cuban officials on what it views as long waits and exorbitant fees being charged Cubans emigrating legally.
Although Havana has reduced the cost by several hundred dollars to the current price of about $500, U.S. officials complain that the sum is still prohibitive for many would-be migrants. Fed up with the cost and delays, some Cubans cleared by the United States have opted for rafts, they said.
The U.S. team also raised complaints about the ``reintegration'' of some Cuban rafters who have been forcibly repatriated, saying some were not able to return to their former jobs. But one U.S. official called such problems ``minor.''
The Cuban delegation, led by National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon, complained about the failure of U.S. courts to punish Cubans who hijack and kidnap to reach U.S. shores.
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald