LatinNews Daily Report - 27 February 2014

Cuba: On 20 February the Miami Herald cited an anonymous US State Department spokesperson as saying that the US had come up with a “workable solution” to the banking dilemma that led Cuba to suspend its consular services in the US – which the Cuban Interests Section in the US announced on 14 February - but that Cuba decided not to pursue it. In a statement issued on 14 February the Cuban Interests Section had referred “to its press release of December 9, 2013, by which it informed of a new deadline given by M&T Bank for its ending of banking services to the Section and the Cuban Permanent Mission to the United Nations. March 1st, 2014 was then set as deadline for the closing of the accounts, and February 14 as the last date for deposits”. The 20 February Miami Herald article notes that “it’s hard to say whether the solution was truly workable. Neither the State Department nor Cuba will disclose what it was”. The US official is cited as saying “We are disappointed in this action, given that we had helped the mission identify a workable solution to its consular fee processing needs with ample time for its implementation… That the Cuban Interests Section has not effectively pursued this option will result in hardship to Cuban and U.S. citizen travelers alike”.

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