Weekly Report - 13 March 2008 (ISSN 1741-7422)

MEXICO | Mexico's foreign minister visits Cuba. Patricia Espinosa, Mexico's foreign minister, opened her long-awaited two day visit to Cuba on 13 March. It is not yet clear which of the Castro brothers, Fidel or Raúl, she will meet. Raúl took over from his brother as president last month. Espinosa's visit is a tangible sign that relations between Mexico and Cuba, which virtually collapsed under President Vicente Fox (2000 to 2006), are on the mend. Espinosa has meetings with Felipe Pérez Roque, her opposite number, and she is also scheduled to meet Carlos Lage, a vice president, and Ricardo Alarcón, the president of the national assembly. The Mexican ambassador in Havana is talking about President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa visiting Cuba later this year.