SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Cuba has agreed to restart talks with the United States on immigration and has signaled its willingness to cooperate on issues including terrorism, drug trafficking and even mail service, a sign that the island’s communist government is warming to President Obama’s call for a new relationship after decades of tension, U.S. officials said Sunday.
The breakthrough was announced as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began a three-day trip to Latin America, where she is expected to face pressure from regional leaders to take further steps to ease the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba.
A senior State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, called the Cuban moves “a very positive development” that indicated the country’s rulers want better relations. “It’s our hope this will be understood in the region in a positive way,” he said.
Obama has promised a “new beginning” with Cuba, and his overtures have included lifting restrictions on visits by Cuban Americans to the island and allowing U.S. telecommunications firms to operate there. But the administration has moved cautiously, mindful of domestic political repercussions. Obama and Clinton have said the United States will not lift its economic embargo until President Raul Castro’s government makes democratic reforms.
The United States has resisted readmitting Cuba, arguing it would violate the charter of the Organization of American States — the main forum for political cooperation in the hemisphere — on democratic principles. But the idea has widespread support in Latin America, where the U.S. embargo is seen as an anachronism and a symbol of Washington’s historic dominance in the region.
The talks are not expected to change significantly the number of Cubans who legally immigrate each year — about 20,000, the official said. But they will be the highest-level contacts between the two governments, and they could lead to dialogue on other topics. The Obama administration is interested in the discussions in part because of the growing problem of Cubans trying to enter the United States illegally, the official said.
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