Cuba says it won't exchange ambassadors with U.S. until it's off terrorism list

Cuba says it won't exchange ambassadors with U.S. until it's off
terrorism list
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@MiamiHerald.com

The head of the Cuban Interests Section said Tuesday that despite the
embargo, President Barack Obama still has room to expand the United
States' relationship with Cuba using executive authority.

Even the Helms Burton Act, which imposes many conditions before the
embargo can be lifted, is open to legal interpretation, said José Ramón
Cabañas, Cuba's top diplomat in the U.S.

The career diplomat spoke on the campus of New College of Florida at an
event organized by the Sarasota World Affairs Council and Cuba Standard,
a digital news service that focuses on the Cuban economy and business.

Cabañas' comments came hours after Cuban leader Raúl Castro told
reporters in Havana that the two countries would not exchange
ambassadors until after Cuba comes off the U.S. list of state sponsors
of terrorism. That is expected to happen on May 29.

The United States put Cuba on the list in 1982 because of its
revolutionary activities in Latin America and Africa, but Cuba has long
complained that it never should have been put on the list, which carries
financial sanctions.

"This sort of unjust accusation is about to be lifted and we'll be able
to name ambassadors," Castro said after seeing off French President
Francois Hollande at the Havana airport.

But Cabañas said that Castro's remarks didn't mean the exchange of
ambassadors will happen "the day after　May 29.''

The United States and Cuba have had three negotiating sessions since the
two countries announced on Dec. 17　that they planned to renew
diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors.

"We have had an ongoing dialogue," said Cabañas , who has taken part in
the negotiations with the United States. But he told the Miami Herald in
a brief interview that there could be another negotiating session if
both sides decide it's necessary.

Cuba and the United States have not had diplomatic relations for more
than a half-century. Even before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, "those days
were not even normal" with the United States, Cabañas said.

"We have to discover together what that [normal] means," he said.

On Monday, Cabañas arrived in Gainesville, where he attended a law
conference, and on Tuesday he toured Port Manatee, which has been
mentioned as a possible hopping-off point for ferry service between
Florida and Cuba; addressed the Greater Manatee Chamber of Commerce, and
toured the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, which has a research
exchange program with Cuba.

During his meeting at Port Manatee, Cabañas met with a small group of
business executives, including two from the ferry industry. Treasury's
Office of Foreign Assets has issued at least six licenses to U.S.
companies interested in offering ferry service between Florida and Cuban
ports.

But before ferry service can begin, the companies must negotiate port
access with the Cubans and the U.S. Coast Guard must inspect the
potential Cuban ports.

A Cuban law that bars those born in Cuba from entering or leaving the
country by vessel also could be a hindrance. Cabañas indicated that the
law is something that may be addressed in the future.

During a luncheon meeting at the Manatee chamber, Cabañas said that the
Cuban Interests Section, which lost its banker 15 months ago and has
been operating on a cash basis since, was in negotiations with a
Florida-based bank to handle the accounts of the Interests Section and
Cuba's permanent mission at the United Nations.

At the New College event, Cabañas also talked about the economic changes
Cuba has been making for the past several years, including its new
foreign investment law, tax code and container port and special economic
zone in Mariel.

Already, he said, most commercial facilities at the Port of Havana have
been dismantled and transferred to Mariel with an eye toward connecting
to the ongoing expansion of the Panama Canal, which is creating a "new
dynamic in the region for transshipment."

Ports in the southern United States, he suggested, could have links with
Mariel's deep-water port. But maritime analysts have said that as long
as the U.S. embargo is in place, Mariel isn't expected to become a major
transshipment hub.

Source: Cuba says it won't exchange ambassadors with U.S. until it's off
terrorism list | Miami Herald Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article20793156.html