Above: Havana

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Officials from the United States and Cuba met in Havana this week for talks on the implementation of the two countries’ 1994 and 1995 migration accords.

The discussions, which were held on Thursday, were led by Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Alex Lee and the Foreign Ministry’s Director General for US Affairs, Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, on behalf of the US and Cuba, respectively.

In a statement issued by the US State Department, the government said the agenda reflected “reflected longstanding U.S. priorities on Cuba-U.S. migration issues, as well as cooperation on aviation security, search and rescue, and consular document fraud.”

The US said that both governments “pledge to promote safe, legal, and orderly migration between Cuba and the United States.”

The US also reiterated its call for the release of Alan Gross, who was arrested in Cuba in Dec. 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for “facilitating uncensored internet contact between a small, religious community on the island and the rest of the world.”

The US delegation said it “highlighted areas of successful cooperation in migration, exchanging information on the interdiction of undocumented migrants, and clarifying aspects of Cuba’s recent changes in migration policy.”

The two countries held similar talks in July.