The Interests Section of Cuba in Washington today announced that it will renew expired passports of Cuban residents in the U.S. who plan to travel in the coming months to the island.
This is a “temporary” measure that will “create conditions in our Consular Office to renew expired passports or coming due of those citizens residing in United States who are booked to travel to Cuba in the period between May 15 and August 31, 2014, “said the statement from the Cuba Interests Section in Washington.
The procedure must be done through travel agents who have “working relations “with the Consular Office at its headquarters in Washington. And although it is considered that the measure is temporary until a more permanent solution is found, it indicated that the deadline “could be extended if the implementation of the alternative solution takes more time than planned.”
In February Cuba announced a new suspension with immediate and indefinite character of consular services in the United States due to the “impossibility” of finding a new bank to carry the accounts of his diplomatic mission.
The delegation reiterated today, as it has done in recent months, that it has not yet managed to find a bank based in the United States to assume the bank accounts of the Cuban diplomatic missions “because of regulations arising from the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States to Cuba.”
The U.S. government has said repeatedly that works “actively ” with the Cuban Interests Section to find a new bank, but until now this has been fruitless .
Cuba issues passports valid for six years, but requires an extension every two years. Until late last month, the country had accepted the entry of travelers without a valid extension on condition that the travelers then obtain it in Havana due to problems at its consulate in Washington.
With information taken from CubaDebate
