Diaz-Canel attended meeting on irregular migration in Chiapas, Mexico

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 23 (ACN) Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Republic, participated in the "Palenque Meeting: for a Fraternal Neighborhood with Wellbeing," which took place in Mexico.

On X account of the Presidency states that the meeting was also attended by Nicolas Maduro, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya and Gustavo Petro, presidents of Venezuela, Honduras and Colombia, respectively.

On its website, the Presidency reports that Diaz-Canel arrived in Mexico on Sunday morning to participate in the meeting convened by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address the migration issue.

The Cuban Head of State is accompanied by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio and other officials of the Foreign Ministry.Diaz-Canel referred to his visit to Mexico on X and pointed out the sensitivity of the topic of the meeting for the nation.

According to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, last year 2.58 million people transited through the U.S.-Mexico border; 314,268 through Mexico's southern border; and 248,284 through the Darien Strait.

From January to September 2023, the figures are 1.75 million people through the border between Mexico and the United States; 1.13 million through Mexico's southern border; and 428,696 through the Darien Strait.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry also revealed that the largest numbers of emigrants come from Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua, in that order, according to the Presidency.

In this regard, Cuba denounces the impact of U.S. policies on migratory flows.

Speaking at the Summit on Migration, Cuban leader affirmed that it is in the hands of the U.S. authorities to have a major influence on the reduction of these flows of Cuban migrants.

The President recalled that there are several agreements between Cuba and the United States, still in force, which were conceived to ensure that migration between the two countries was orderly, regular and safe, and to promote the full normalization of bilateral migratory relations, although the actions of that Government go in the opposite direction to those objectives and prevent their fulfillment.

"We really needed this regional dialogue, to meet and address with honesty and realism the drama of irregular migration that every day hits us with painful news, because only in a coordinated manner could we figure out the multiple causes and consequences of the problem, and only then will we be able to advance in its possible solutions," said Diaz-Canel in his speech, which is transmitted in its entirety below:

Dear Andres Manuel;

Dear Heads of State and Government present;

Heads of delegations;

Guests:

Our first words express a strong condemnation of the genocide and aggression executed by Israel against the Palestinian people, condemnation of the merciless massacre of defenseless people, a disgrace to humanity that must stop.

I sincerely thank the Government of Mexico and especially the authorities of the State of Chiapas for the kind reception in an appointment arranged with the haste that urgencies always bring.

And again, thank you friend, brother Andres Manuel for the initiative. We really needed this regional dialogue, to meet and address with honesty and realism the drama of irregular migration that every day hits us with painful news, because only in a coordinated manner could we decipher the multiple causes and consequences of the problem, and only in this way will we be able to advance in its possible solutions.

There is no other way to confront the notable increase in irregular migratory flows.

According to public figures, between 2022 and so far in 2023, more than 4 million migrants have transited irregularly through the countries of the region en route to the United States. These are numbers never seen before.

In general, we are well aware of the factors that cause this phenomenon, but there is no need to inquire into the main motivations of our fellow citizens, because it is up to us to mitigate the problem and mitigate its negative effects, while ensuring the safety of migrants.

Although there are attempts to impose other politically motivated versions, there is an unavoidable truth: the root cause of irregular migration lies in the socioeconomic conditions of the countries of origin - which is aggravated by the impact of the pandemic - and the aspiration of migrants to settle and work in the United States, where labor market offers attract those who dream of a more prosperous economic scenario than that of their surroundings, and who do not always find it.

Family ties and vulnerabilities associated with climate change can also be mentioned.

None of these motivations is alien to Cuba. However, Cuba's migratory potential is additionally stimulated, in a very significant way, by the hostile policy of the United States towards our country.

This hostile policy, which has a direct and extraordinary impact on the Cuban migratory flow and, collaterally, on the countries of the region through which this migration passes, is expressed in three fundamental components:

First, there is the economic blockade, criminally tightened in recent years with a comprehensive and all-encompassing system of coercive measures aimed, by definition, at depressing the standard of living of the Cuban population, reducing their real income and making them suffer hunger and misery. The unjust, absurd and arbitrary classification of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism has a significant bearing on the economic effect of that policy.

Secondly, and for political reasons, the United States Government grants privileged treatment to Cubans who arrive at its southern or maritime borders with the purpose of settling permanently in that country. The vast majority of these migrants are accepted regardless of the status with which they arrived at the border or succeeded in crossing it. Consequently, many Cubans are confident that, unlike nationals of other countries, their chances of settling in the United States are very high if they manage to reach the border by any means.

Thirdly, and also for political reasons, there is a federal law in the United States called the Cuban Adjustment Act, according to which any Cuban who entered the United States after January 1, 1959 has the opportunity to obtain permanent residency after one year of arrival. This is a unique privilege not enjoyed by nationals of any other country. It is exclusive to Cubans, and provides an extraordinary incentive for the migrant.

More than a decade ago, and in his capacity as President of the Republic, Army General Raul Castro, leader of the Revolution, and to whom we owe important changes made since then to our migratory law, for its necessary updating, called attention to the great ignorance that prevails in the world about the policy towards Cuba, in the following terms:

"Nobody in the great international press talks about the aforementioned Adjustment Act, it is as if it did not exist. Cuban emigrants are, as a result of the lie repeated thousands of times, called 'political exiles' escaping from communism. That is to say, for them, the citizens of Cuba 'escape', while they emigrate from the rest of the world.

"What would happen if a Latin American, Asian or African adjustment law were put into effect in the United States or the European Union? The answer is obvious. There is the gigantic wall built on the northern border of Mexico and the thousands of deaths that, year after year, occur in deserts and seas bordering the centers of world power".

On the other hand, the impunity of U.S. authorities towards migrants who have used the theft of a fumigation aircraft, or others who travel as stowaways in civilian aircraft, besides stimulating illegal emigration from Cuba, sets very dangerous precedents for the security of international civil aeronautics, in violation of the migration agreements signed between the two countries.

All these practices respond to purely political motivations, and lack any legitimacy or moral justification whatsoever.

These regulations express very clearly how the U.S. government puts the objectives of destabilization against Cuba before its national priorities in the area of migration.

Between Cuba and the United States there are several agreements, still in force, which were conceived to ensure that migration between the two countries was orderly, regular and safe, and to promote the full normalization of bilateral migratory relations. However, the actions I have commented on, on the part of the U.S.

Government, go in the opposite direction of those objectives and impede their fulfillment.

It is impossible to understand the volume and nature of the migratory flows of Cubans through the countries of the region to the United States without considering the significance of these factors, which make it unique and reinforce it.

Modifying the structural causes of Cuban migration, both regular and irregular, and influencing in a fundamental way the reduction of the flow of Cuban migrants through different countries, is in the hands of the U.S. authorities.

As I have said recently, in general, Cubans who leave Cuba legally become irregular migrants, subjected to all kinds of risks and dangers, even to their lives, in transit to the United States.

When there is the will to move in that direction, I assure you that you will always count on Cuba's commitment and cooperation.

Cuba's migration policy favors the travel of Cuban citizens abroad and their return to Cuba.

We maintain bilateral mechanisms of migratory cooperation with several nations of the region, and exchange of migratory alerts with others, with the objective of implementing the tools that allow us to achieve a regular, orderly and safe flow of travelers; and, at the same time, to combat the trafficking of irregular migrants and human trafficking.

This type of meeting is of great value for our fellow citizens, for their families, for our societies and for the relations between our countries. It is what strengthens the sense of brotherhood of Our America.
Once again, thank you very much, Chiapas; thank you very much, Mexico; thank you very much, brother Andres Manuel!