Trump Administration Yet to Talk to Cuba over Migration

Pedro Pardo, AFP (file photo)
Pedro Pardo, AFP (file photo)
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Trump Administration Yet to Talk to Cuba over Migration

Pedro Pardo, AFP (file photo)
Pedro Pardo, AFP (file photo)

Cuba has yet to discuss migration with the Trump administration, Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Reuters, even as the US plows ahead with a vast immigration crackdown that could leave many Cubans at risk of deportation.
The Trump administration is planning to revoke legal status from some 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans allowed to enter the US legally under temporary humanitarian "parole programs" launched under former US President Joe Biden, Reuters reported last week.
The move under consideration would be part of a broader effort to end Biden-era parole programs that allowed some 1.8 million migrants to enter the United States.
But the Trump administration has not yet broached the subject of migration or any potential increase in deportations with Cuba, de Cossio told Reuters in an interview late Tuesday at Cuba`s Foreign Ministry in Havana.
"There has been no request of that nature from the US government," de Cossio said. "We have yet to even sit down to discuss if that would be a possibility."
The White House, the US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Under existing migratory accords, which date back to the 1980s, Cuba has routinely accepted immigrants deported from the US by air and by sea.
Two such repatriation flights have landed in Havana since January, de Cossio said. Most carry fewer than 100 deportees.
But large scale deportations of Cubans initially admitted lawfully into the United States were never contemplated in the migratory accords between the two countries, the vice minister said.
"When the agreements were made, the possibility of the United States admitting people, and then unadmitting them, was not at the time seen as something reasonable. So anything (like that) would need to be discussed."
De Cossio declined to say whether Cuba would be willing to cooperate with such an arrangement, calling it "unrealistic and unfair."
Cuba has long alleged the US stokes mass migration by attacking its economy with sanctions while at the same time incentivizing Cuban migration with laws that offer them a clearer path to citizenship than other nationalities.
"They didn`t tear down a wall, they didn`t have to jump a fence to get into the US, they were invited," de Cossio said.
The United States says Cuba is to blame for its migration crisis, accusing the island`s communist-run government of mismanaging the economy and violating human rights.
Cubans rank among the top groups crossing the US-Mexico border both through Biden-era legal entry programs and illegally in recent years.
Upwards of one million Cubans have left the island since 2020, roughly a tenth of the population, an exodus demographers say has few parallels outside of war.
The US and Cuba last met to discuss migration in December, before Trump took office, and are next slated to meet in April in Washington, though de Cossio said the Trump administration had yet to confirm that meeting.



Snapback Threat Deepens Iran-West Tensions Amid Warnings and Diplomatic Standoff

Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)
Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)
TT
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Snapback Threat Deepens Iran-West Tensions Amid Warnings and Diplomatic Standoff

Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)
Iranians walk past a propaganda mural in Tehran depicting a figure from Persian mythology launching missiles, Wednesday (EPA)

Tensions between Iran and Western powers have escalated sharply, as the European trio - Britain, France, and Germany - hinted at reactivating the “snapback” mechanism that would automatically reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran. The looming decision has sparked strong reactions from Tehran, with Iranian officials warning of potential retaliatory actions that may come as a surprise to some European nations.

According to diplomatic sources cited by the Associated Press, the foreign ministers of the European trio agreed during a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week to reinstate UN sanctions on Iran by the end of August, should no substantial progress be made on the nuclear deal.

The snapback mechanism, part of the 2015 nuclear agreement, allows any signatory to reinstate international sanctions if Iran fails to uphold its commitments. The clause expires on October 18, making this summer a crucial period for decisive action.

In Tehran, the response was swift and stern. Iranian MP Ebrahim Azizi, head of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, denounced the European move as “a hostile political action.”

He stressed that Iran has “multiple options” and would not hesitate to use them if provoked. “The West must refrain from such a step,” Azizi warned, “and if they go ahead with it, our countermeasures may be unexpected for some Europeans.”

Conservative Iranian newspaper Kayhan went even further, calling for legislation to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), framing it as a necessary deterrent step.

Earlier this month, Iran’s parliament passed a law to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), requiring all inspection requests to be coordinated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

This move came in response to US airstrikes on Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment site, as well as facilities in Isfahan and Natanz, during a 12-day war initiated by Israel on June 13.

Despite the growing tensions, some Iranian figures are urging a return to diplomacy. Mohammad Sadr, a veteran diplomat and member of the Expediency Council, stressed the need for “serious and urgent” negotiations with the European trio.

“Given the limited time before snapback is activated, Iran must work to create conditions that prevent Europe from taking that route,” Sadr said in a media interview.

The UK, France, and Germany are all original signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, arguing it was too lenient on Tehran.

Under the agreement, sanctions were lifted in exchange for strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program. The snapback clause allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions if Iran is found to be non-compliant.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated on Tuesday that the trio is now in a position to justify triggering the snapback. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of the three nations met at the German UN mission this week to discuss the situation. Though no specific conditions were disclosed, the discussions signaled growing impatience with Tehran.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged his German and French counterparts to activate the snapback during a meeting on the sidelines of the EU ministerial council in Brussels on Tuesday.

The newspaper reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also discussed the issue with multiple world leaders. A senior Israeli official said: “There are no longer valid excuses to delay reimposing sanctions.”

He added that Iran’s previous threats to enrich uranium to 90% are now considered irrelevant. “Even the US now supports the snapback, and the Europeans are inclined to follow suit.”