WASHINGTON, D.C. – After 24 years of embargo, the U.S. and Cuba will soon be trading mail.
The United States and Cuba reached an understanding December 10 during discussions in Miami to re-establish direct postal services between the two countries through the implementation of a pilot plan for the transportation of mail. The plan will provide for mail flights between the two countries several times a week, rather than routing mail through a third country. Details will be finalized in the coming weeks.
The U.S. delegation was led by Lea Emerson, Executive Director for International Postal Affairs at the U.S. Postal Service, and the Cuban delegation was led by Cuban Ambassador to the United States Jose Ramon Cabanas Rodriguez.
The agreement ends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the embargo on trade with Cuba. Congress is still deliberating the United States-Cuba Normalization Act of 2015, which would amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the embargo on trade with Cuba.
