Relationship between the US and Cuba complete a year of progress in several sectors

Washington, July 17 (EFE) .- Close to complete a year since re-established the relationship, Cuba and the United States have taken steps in recent months to advance the bilateral ties, especially on the opening of air routes and areas of telecomunição, import and mail.

A year after the flags of both countries were hoisted in the corresponding embassies, after more than 50 years of diplomatic rupture, the United States continue to maintain current the famous embargo - whose suspension depends on the Congress - but the Executive Barack Obama has taken steps to smooth the way.

A few weeks ago, the Department of Transportation announced that from "this fall" direct US flights to Havana will begin operating from 10 cities in the country: Atlanta (Georgia), Charlotte (North Carolina), Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami and Tampa (Florida), Houston (Texas), Los Angeles (California), Newark (New Jersey) and New York.

Although the legislature has not yet suspended all restrictions on commercial flights and tourism to the island, these flights will be used to connect those Americans who, authorized by executive orders Obama, can travel for other reasons.

In September, was started the easing of travel to conduct business in Cuba and to send remittances and facilitate telecommunications on the island and have been presented several bills to travel freely to the island, they move stealthily in Congress.

Under the new rules, Americans can now establish and maintain a physical presence in Cuba as an office or a building, in sectors such as journalism, agriculture and construction, mail and postal, telecommunications and travel companies, among others.

Throughout this year, the US also allowed the import of coffee and textile products produced by "independent entrepreneurs" Cubans, a measure which had a very limited impact, but with which Washington sought to make clear its support for the small private sector of the island .

The State Department updated its rules for the import of goods produced by Cuban entrepreneurs who demonstrate state independence, created in February 2015 and, so far, affected almost exclusively artisans products such as jewelry, ceramics and works of art.

In addition, US business coming to settle on the island can now hire Cuban citizens, as well as open and maintain bank accounts there, as authorized entrepreneurs of the telecommunications and internet sector can provide services to association with Cuban entities.

After months of negotiations, at the end of 2015, the Bilateral Commission for the normalization of relations also reached an agreement to re-establish direct postal service through a transport master plan the post office.

"The plan will provide flights to send mail between the two countries several times a week", instead of performing deliveries through a third country, as is currently done, according to the State Department.

The two countries, however, to have important issues to resolve, such as their differences on migration, exchange of prisoners and fugitives, the economic embargo on the island and the improvement of the human rights situation, which Washington claims to Havana.

Among the most complicated issues to be resolved is that of mutual economic compensation for goods naturalized Americans after the triumph of the Revolution and the derived economic embargo damage which is claimed Cuba.

Also, while thousands of Cubans trying to reach the United States through Central America, Havana urged Washington to put an end to his law of "Cuban Adjustment", in effect since 1966 and that, along with the measure "feet dry / wet feet" allows Cubans who trample American territory remained the same.

The latest Cuban immigration crisis happened at the end of 2015 in Costa Rica and Panama, where thousands of Cubans who traveled through Ecuador -a country so that did not require seen- were arrested after the refusal of Nicaragua to allow the traffic to get to Mexico and cross the border with the US

The dialogue on migration was one of the few bilateral contacts that kept US and Cuba before the reestablishment of diplomatic relations announced in December 2014 and since then there have been several rounds of talks on this subject.

The basis for dialogue on this issue lies in the 1994 and 1995 agreements, by which the two countries pledged to maintain a "safe, legal and orderly" migration to prevent repeated crises such as those years, when thousands of people tried to get in fragile boats.