Cuban VP meets with renowned U.S. journalist

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 9 (ACN) "It is a pleasure to welcome you and your accompanying personalities, who are opinion leaders in the U.S. media,” Political Bureau member and Vice President of the Republic Salvador Valdés Mesa remarked right before his meeting with DeWayne Wickham, Dean Emeritus of Morgan State University’s School of Journalism—who has visited Cuba repeatedly in the last 24 years—and distinguished American academics.

Valdés Mesa praised the variety of social, civil and racial issues that Mr. Wickham addresses and actively acts upon on a permanent basis and thanked him for his work in favor of Cuba-U.S. relations and against the blockade, “the most serious obstacle to Cuban can-do nowadays”, he stressed.

The Cuban official pointed out current priorities such as food production, an issue that his office monitors constantly as befits his governmental mission.

On his end, Professor DeWayne Wickham expressed his gratitude for a meeting he described as “a great honor” as part of a visit that—he said—“went beyond all expectations” and during which he learned details about Cuba’s social and economic facts and was conferred the status of Guest Professor by the University of Havana .

DeWayne’s work has been published in U.S. media outlets such as the Baltimore Sun, US News & World Report, Black Enterprise magazine, CBS News, BET News, and USA TODAY. His coming closer to Cuba dates back to 1999, when he joined a group of black congressmen who met with Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.