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WORLD NEWS Thursday 21 april 2022
Cuba: US migration policy ‘incoherent’ and ‘differentiated’

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ dal, who was the head of
HAVANA (AP) — Two days negotiations for the historic
before the opening of rapprochement with the
migration talks between U.S. in 2014.
Cuba and the United The talks concluded with
States, which have been the reopening of diplomat-
paralyzed for four years, a ic offices and Obama’s trip
high-ranking Cuban official to the island.
lamented Washington’s According to U.S. Customs
“incoherent” and “differ- and Border Protection, in
entiated” migration poli- the last six months Cubans
cies, and exhorted Wash- were stopped 79,800 times
ington to comply with cur- at the southern U.S. border,
rent agreements. a little more than double
The migration meeting will that number seen in the en-
take place amid a dra- tire 2021 fiscal year and five
matic increase in arrivals times more than in 2020.
of Cubans at the southern On Tuesday, Vidal present-
border of the United States. ed a gloomy picture. Cu-
“We are noticing, and ban authorities have said
now much more these U.S. flag flies at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, March 18, 2019 days after the U.S. State that in the last five years
days, that there is a differ- Department announced it was eliminating a five-year tourist visa for Cubans. Washington has failed to
entiated and incoherent Associated Press comply with the part of a
approach by the United bilateral agreement that
States toward the migra- Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said had begun. Trump withdrew embassy establishes the delivery of
tory issue,” Deputy Foreign on Twitter that the meeting Trump increased sanctions staff in 2017. Thousands 20,000 visas per year.
Minister Josefina Vidal told will be held in Washington against the Caribbean is- of people were left with Sea crossings have also
a small group of journalists Thursday and its delegation land, from the cancellation incomplete family reunifi- increased, either in rustic
on Tuesday. will be headed by deputy of permits to send remit- cation processes or were boats or at the hands of
The U.S. is financially help- minister Carlos Fernández tances or cruise ships, to prevented from travel- traffickers. From October to
ing “many countries in the de Cossio. penalties for companies ing unless they carried out date, the U.S. Coast Guard
region in order to reacti- The last of these meetings from third countries that visa procedures through intercepted 1,257 Cubans,
vate their economies, to which according to agree- operate in Cuba, to limita- Guyana. U.S. President compared with 838 in 2021.
help them create jobs,” in- ments between both coun- tion of flights and punish- Joe Biden did not relax the As the figures stand, the
cluding supporting health tries must be held twice ment of oil tankers bound tough measures, despite number of departures is
and education projects, a year took place in July for Cuba. his campaign promises. higher than during the so-
said Vidal. Washington’s 2018, under the administra- These measures and the “We do not see any justifi- called “rafter crisis” of 1994
policy is exactly the oppo- tion of then President Don- pandemic contributed to cation for not giving all vi- when some 30,000 people
site with Cuba, where it is ald Trump. an economic crisis in Cuba, sas to Cuban emigrants in arrived through the Straits
applying “maximum pres- Trump ended the policy of with shortages of basic Havana and forcing the of Florida and half of those
sure to the economic or- rapprochement between products, power outages majority of Cubans to travel who did so in the Mariel
der and through coercive both nations that his pre- and the respective queues (to Guyana), with the costs exodus in 1980, when some
measures.” decessor, Barack Obama, and rationing. that this implies,” added Vi- 124,000 Cubans left.q

Poland: Coal mine explosions kill 5, injure more than 20

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The operation was suspend- eas of their bodies. Health organizations concerned ed in the southern Silesia
Two methane explosions at ed due to the resulting fire Minister Adam Niedzielski about CO2 emissions and region. Many are at risk of
a coal mine in southern Po- and dangerous conditions. said that one of the 5 dead climate change. explosions from the sudden
land killed five people and Experts were evaluating had been among the 11 in- Most coal mines are locat- release of methane.q
injured more than 20 early the possibility of resuming jured who were brought to
Wednesday, the Polish the rescue mission. the Siemianowice hospital
prime minister said. Seven The mine, close to the in most serious condition.
others were missing. Czech border, is operated Other injured people were
The first blast took place by the Jastrzebska Spolka taken to other hospitals in
shortly after midnight Weglowa, or JSW, min- the region.
about 1,000 meters (3,000 ing company. Prosecutors Rescue workers were are
feet) under the surface at have opened an investiga- among the victims of the
the Pniowek mine in Paw- tion. explosions, Morawiecki
lowice, Prime Minister Ma- More than 20 people, in- said.
teusz Morawiecki told re- cluding rescuers, were hos- “A tragedy happened
porters outside the mine’s pitalized with severe burns, here today,” he said as he
office building. the prime minister said. offered sympathy to the
Morawiecki said a rescue Doctors at the Siemiano- families and stressed the
operation was launched wice Slaskie hospital, which dangerous nature of coal
immediately, but a second specializes in treating burns mining work.
explosion occurred about and victims of mining acci- Poland relies on its own and
three hours after the first, dents, said some of the pa- imported coal for almost A police car and a firefighters’ truck before the Pniowek coal
mine in Pawlowice, southern Poland, on Wednesday, April 20,
and communication was tients have life-threatening 70% of its energy, drawing 2022, where two underground methane explosions killed five
lost with some of the rescu- injuries, including burns to criticism from the European people and injured more than 20 early Wednesday.
ers. their lungs and large ar- Union and environmental Associated Press