US embassy starts processing visas in Cuba after five years

The United States embassy in Cuba has resumed work after almost five years. The embassy would start processing visas after the suspension in 2017. On Tuesday, a small number of individuals gathered outside the embassy's consular office in Havana.

"Welcome to the embassy after such a long time," a Cuban employee said to the group of people waiting for appointments.

After US officials and their families were diagnosed with mysterious ailments known as "Havana Syndrome," Washington shut down its diplomatic facilities in the Cuban capital in 2017.

According to research released by the US government in 2020, "directed, pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy" was most likely to blame for the illnesses sustained by employees and their families.

The last time the US embassy in Cuba issued visas was in 2017; after that the consular services were suspended after diplomatic staff became ill.

Many Cubans wishing to travel to the United States and escape their island nation's economic troubles were devastated by the closure.

"We're hoping everything goes smoothly." One guy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, "I've been waiting three years for this to reunite my daughter who is in the United States.It's been seven years since I've seen her."

The action comes after the United States and Cuba held their highest-level diplomatic talks last month. During the administration of former US President Donald Trump, relations between the two countries were severely strained.

The US said in March that it would begin a "limited" and "gradual" reopening of its embassy and consular services, as well as begin to process a massive backlog of immigration visa petitions from Cubans with family in the US.

Under US President Joe Biden, relations between the two countries have remained tight amid migration, ongoing US sanctions against the island, and the Cuban government's recent crackdown on opposition protesters.

The United States and Cuba held their highest-level meetings since President Joe Biden took office in April 2022, but Washington claimed the conversations were limited to migration and did not signal a wider thaw.

Following the closure of the embassy, Cubans seeking to move to the United States faced various challenges, including needing to go through Colombia or Guyana to file an application.

Instead, many chose to risk their lives by crossing into the United States as undocumented migrants through Central America and Mexico.

The development also comes at a time when the US is desperate to control an increasing number of Cubans attempting to enter the country illegally.

According to US border officials, the number of Cubans requesting entry into the nation more than doubled from February to March, to 32,500, and is currently five times higher than it was in October.

According to US Customs and Border Protection, more than 78,000 Cubans entered the US from Mexico between October 2021 and March this year.

Cuba also wants the US to follow through on a bilateral immigration accord that would allow the US to provide 20,000 visas to Cuba each year.

In the meantime, Cuba is experiencing its greatest economic crisis in over three decades, owing in large part to the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting decline in tourists.