Mexico's newly appointed foreign minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu [RM-15-08], went to Cuba on 19 October for her first official trip abroad. Upon taking office in December 2012 at the helm of the traditional Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), one of President Enrique Peña Nieto's declared foreign policy objectives was to restore Mexico’s historically close relationship with Cuba. Ties had deteriorated dramatically in the two preceding administrations (2000-2012) led by the conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN). During her one-day visit, Ruiz met with her Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez, and Cuba’s first vice-president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. According to a statement by the Mexican foreign…