Washington Watch - 11 March 2010
Cuba: A former Reganite secretary of agriculture, John Rusling Block, has lent his voice to a press ad campaign sponsored by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, the Latin America Working Group, and the New America Foundation calling for closer agricultural trade and travel relations with Cuba. Block is quoted in the ad: "It's hard to think of a better expression for the conservative values that brought me to Washington than taking steps now to create profits and jobs here in America, while providing better nutrition, more contacts, and greater hope for the Cuban people."
Cuba: A 10 March amendment to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations makes it easier for Cuba to pay for its imports of US agricultural goods. Previously, Cuban importers had to pay cash in advance to US firms before the goods were even shipped from the US. Under the amendment, Cuban importers will now be able to pay for the goods when they arrive at Cuban ports. This will reduce the financial cost of the transactions, which must go through third-country banks. The amendment is only technically in effect until 30 September 2009, but any contracts signed before that date will be covered for a further 12 months. The expectation is that the new regulation will be rolled over again come September.
Immigration: Immigrants' rights groups in the US say that expulsions of migrants have increased by 50% since President Barack Obama came to power last year. They say that 387,790 immigrants were expelled from the US in 2009. In 2008, the final year of George W. Bush's second presidential term, 264,503 people were deported. The figures come from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (Chirla). Chirla is one of the organisations behind a demonstration for immigrants' rights scheduled for 21 March in Washington DC.
Haiti: The US began its withdrawal of troops from the country. It had stationed thousands of troops to assist in efforts to deliver aid and water to victims of the 12 January earthquake. A gradual reduction from a peak of 20,000 in early February has accelerated in recent days. It was unclear how many US troops would remain over the coming months, there are currently an estimated 8,000 still on the Haitian mission, with about half on offshore vessels.