Havana Tribune

The President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, arrived in Mexico this Sunday morning to participate in the “Palenque Meeting: For Fraternal Neighborhood and Prosperity.”a meeting called by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador with the aim of addressing the problem Immigration issue.

The head of the island state will participate in the plenary session of this meeting – according to the official agenda it should be at noon – in the presence of leaders and high-level representatives of 11 countries: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Panama and Venezuela. Presidents Nicolás Maduro, Xiomara Castro, and Gustavo Petro confirmed their participation

The Cuban President is accompanied at this meeting by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Barela, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, and other officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As AMLO explained in recent days, the meeting is attended by “countries that witness the greatest number of migration or through which migrants pass.” Writing in Mananera on October 13, López Obrador noted concern that “the migration flow is increasing and we must look for measures to address the causes.”

He said at the time: We seek to help each other so that people have options and possibilities to stay in their cities. He added that the issue of migration must be addressed by respecting human rights, providing choices, and protecting migrants.

The Mexican President also spoke about requesting cooperation from the United States to do more to address the causes, not only by thinking about walls and militarization of the border, but also in meeting the needs of the people, as he stressed in his regular program.

According to information from the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Last year, 2.58 million people crossed the border between Mexico and the United States.; and along the southern border of Mexico, 314,268; 248,284 crossed the Darien Strait.

From January to September 2023, the numbers stand at 1.75 million peopleAnd along the border between Mexico and the United States; 1.13 million along Mexico’s southern border; And 428 thousand 696 through the Darien Strait.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry also announced that the largest numbers of migrants come from Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua, in that order.

President Diaz-Canel will intervene in the meeting to clarify Cuba’s positions About a phenomenon that has historically affected the island, especially due to the blockade policy pursued by the United States government for more than 60 years.

In a recent interview, the Cuban head of state said that “at different times, especially when we were facing an economic crisis, there was Excessive migration flowsHe said that these situations occur periodically when the US government intensifies the situation. He added that the worst part is that they encourage illegal and unsafe immigration, which costs lives.

In the above-mentioned interview, the President explained to journalist Arlene Rodríguez how the measures imposed by Trump against Cuba were intended to create an unfavorable situation to seek social outbreaks regarding immigration.

“Consular services in Cuba were canceled and began to be provided in other countries, with restrictions; People had to incur greater expenses to obtain a visa, with more insecurity. They have even taken other measures to close off our tourism income, such as the automatic visa recently granted to European citizens: if they visit Cuba, they withdraw the visa on which they have facilities to enter the United States. “All of this has caused increased migration.”

Diaz-Canel said Cuba calls for legal, safe and orderly migration. The First Secretary of the PKK Central Committee commented: “Our immigration law guarantees this, but the position of the US government does not guarantee this, and what this causes is despair and insecurity, and people throw themselves into dangerous and completely unsafe experiences.” Cuban Communist Party just a few days ago.

With this panorama, the Greater Antilles delegation arrives at this meeting in Chiapas, from which it is expected that concrete proposals will emerge to address a phenomenon that affects the social and economic stability of countries.

(taken from Cubadipati)