Cuba will accept extradition flights from the US before May 11

The Cuban government plans to re-accept return flights of immigrants with a final order of deportation from the United States, and the date of processing is next May 11.

According to Carlos Fernandez de Cocio, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister said flights are expected to resume before May 11 because that day the United States will end restrictions on asylum related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which could increase the number of people seeking to enter the country from Mexico.

The official noted that there is no agreement on the frequency of flights, which depends on the capacity of both countries. He recalled that before the pandemic there were two monthly flights and felt there was no reason to change that number.

speaks Associated Press From Washington, Kozio described the migration talks held by representatives of the two countries in Washington on Wednesday as “productive.”

“Both sides, the United States and Cuba, have a common understanding of the nature of the problem,” he said.

He The Cuban government froze the Cubans’ return with a final order of deportation People were taken into custody to Havana on official flights from the United States in December 2020, which until then continued to be carried out on flights managed or chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It is not clear whether the planes will initially be detained and declared deportable because the immigrant’s asylum claim (Form I-220B) was not accepted, or whether Cubans deemed ineligible for serving prison terms for serious crimes will also be integrated. America. According to official figures, the group of Cubans with a final order of deportation exceeds 43,000.

The Cuban extradition treaties, established in 1984 and restructured in 2017, were phased out. Barack Obama, They were effectively frozen during Joe Biden’s presidency.

During the administration of Donald Trump, The United States set a record for extradition to Cuba On ICE flights, 3,385 ineligibles were returned.

In late March, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorgas confirmed in Miami. Deportation flights to Cuba have not resumedDespite being announced by the Biden administration last November.

According to Fernández de Cossio, the two countries had planned five deportation flights since November, but they were canceled for “various operational reasons.”

“One of the components of the migration agreements is the resumption of evacuation flights, which we have not done so far,” the senior official said, without elaborating on the reasons for the grounding of these flights.