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Speaker 1: We have a unique opportunity to speak with the Deputy

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Speaker 1: Foreign Minister the Republic of Cuba right now, Carlos Fernandez

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Speaker 1: Dicosio is joining us from our studios in New York

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Speaker 1: and it's great to see you, minister. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: being with us today on Bloomberg. I had the pleasure

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Speaker 1: of being in Havana in twenty nineteen for the rededication

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Speaker 1: of the Hemingway House. At that time I got an

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Speaker 1: earfull about the different policy, the different relationship that the

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Speaker 1: Trump White House had with Cuba than the Obama White House.

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Speaker 1: That relationship has not changed meaningfully since Joe Biden was elected,

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Speaker 1: has it.

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Speaker 2: I agree with you. There has been changes in the

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Speaker 2: sense of a few areas that the US government has

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Speaker 2: decided are or benefit for the US and or benefit

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Speaker 2: of Cuba cooperation, for example in law enforcement, in areas

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Speaker 2: of science, technology, health, some academic, But the meaningful part

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Speaker 2: of the relationship, which is the economic blockade and the

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Speaker 2: aggression against the Cuban economy, has not changed. It's been

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Speaker 2: faithfully applied by the Biden administration.

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Speaker 3: So as the outcome for Cuba serve the same regardless

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Speaker 3: of who wins. In November of this year, or do

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Speaker 3: you fear that there could be even more intensified policy

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Speaker 3: under a second Trump administration when it comes to things

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Speaker 3: like sanctions and potential economic ramifications for your country.

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Speaker 2: Like most people, we can't guess who's going to win

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Speaker 2: the elections, and it's very difficult to truly understand what

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Speaker 2: they promise and what they're going to do. What we

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Speaker 2: hope or what we look for, is that whoever wins

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Speaker 2: does not apply more restrictions, for example, for Cubans that

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Speaker 2: live in the US to relate with their families and

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Speaker 2: their country of origin, or for business people to have

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Speaker 2: even more limitations to do business with Cuba. We would

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Speaker 2: hope that perhaps they ease them or lift them, or

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Speaker 2: for Americans to travel, they're prohibited to travel to Cuba,

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Speaker 2: and almost absolutely perhaps they will give the America is

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Speaker 2: the freedom to be able to travel as they travel

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Speaker 2: to other countries. That's what we hope.

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Speaker 1: What do you hear from the US when it comes

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Speaker 1: to Cuba's relationship with Russia, because this is something that

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Speaker 1: is obviously considered a very delicate matter here in Washington.

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Speaker 1: The fact that Russia is investing in Cuba, the fact

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Speaker 1: that Russia in fact, drafted some Cubans apparently to fight

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Speaker 1: against Ukraine. Is that the point of friction between Havana

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Speaker 1: and Washington right now.

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Speaker 2: The US government knows that most of the investments that

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Speaker 2: take place in Cuba are from European countries or Canada,

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Speaker 2: not so much from Russia. And they also know that

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Speaker 2: we were the ones that I learned and made public

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Speaker 2: that a few Cubans that were in Europe were being

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Speaker 2: recruited for the war, and we took measures for those

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Speaker 2: that were attempting from Cuba to also travel to the war.

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Speaker 2: And we've learned that there are people on both sides,

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Speaker 2: both in Ukraine and Russia of Cuban origin, most of

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Speaker 2: them recruited in Europe, not in Cuba.

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Speaker 3: Well, sir, considering people who are of Cuban origin brings

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Speaker 3: us to the wider question around migration. I know you

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Speaker 3: and your government have been involved in talks with the

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Speaker 3: US on the issue of migration specifically, Is that an

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Speaker 3: area where progress is being made? Can you just characterize

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Speaker 3: for us how that effort is going.

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Speaker 2: That's an area in which the US government and Cuban

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Speaker 2: government has been able to manage, regardless of the administration

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Speaker 2: in the White House for decades already with ups and downs.

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Speaker 2: At this moment, we have agreements in place that we

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Speaker 2: implement and issues on which we discuss that put a

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Speaker 2: limit to the uncontrolled flow, which is what we try

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Speaker 2: to cut. But we made it very clear that as

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Speaker 2: long as the US has a policy of making life

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Speaker 2: difficult for Cubans, it is logical for them to want

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Speaker 2: to migrate to a more prosperous economy. Above all, if

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Speaker 2: there's an invitation by the US that they will get

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Speaker 2: a privileged treatment if they reach the border of the

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Speaker 2: United States by whatever means.

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Speaker 1: So what is the next step? What are you asking

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Speaker 1: for from Washington when you talk to the administration, when

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Speaker 1: Havana engages with Washington. What could Joe Biden do now

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Speaker 1: to begin thawing this relationship with such a close neighbor.

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Speaker 2: What we're not doing is we're not asking for aid

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Speaker 2: or preferential trade conditions or financial support. What we're asking

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Speaker 2: is to be left alone, to allow Cubans to try

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Speaker 2: to develop economy, to try allow us to put in

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Speaker 2: place of transformations that we have identified that are needed

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Speaker 2: to push our economy forward and not make life difficult

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Speaker 2: for the people of Cuba.

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Speaker 3: Well, sir, and you alluded to the idea that you

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Speaker 3: think the extent of the migration we're seeing from Cuba

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Speaker 3: may have to do with the difficulty economically of what

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Speaker 3: life in Cuba actually looks like. But is there really

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Speaker 3: nothing your own government can do on your side in

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Speaker 3: terms of civil liberties, for example, that may also play

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Speaker 3: a role in stemming that tide.

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Speaker 2: Civil liberties is not the main issue. Most of the

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Speaker 2: experts from US and Cuba who follow migration would say

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Speaker 2: that it's basically an economic migration. But I do grant

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Speaker 2: that every country has problems in economic policy, in the

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Speaker 2: discomfort of people with political situation. It happens in all

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Speaker 2: of Latin America, it happens in the US. I'm sure

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Speaker 2: that if you pull people here in the US, not

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Speaker 2: everybody is happy with the government, not everybody, but he's

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Speaker 2: happy with the economic condition. But what's extraordinary, what's unique,

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Speaker 2: is that the most powerful nation in the world has

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Speaker 2: a policy specifically determined to make life as unbearable as

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Speaker 2: possible for the population. And so it's in the hands

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Speaker 2: of the United States to tackle that. It's an illegitimate approach.

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Speaker 2: So the rest we can deal with but this extraordinary

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Speaker 2: factor has to be dealt with by the US government.

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Speaker 1: Minister. There was a visit by Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign

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Speaker 1: minister in Cuba at the time of Alexei Navalny's death.

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Speaker 1: That is a story that resonated very loudly here in

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Speaker 1: the US. It's one that the Biden administration took a

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Speaker 1: very strong stand on when it came to Russia's handling

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Speaker 1: of Alexi Navalny. Did Havana have a message for Moscow

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Speaker 1: when it came to Navalney's death.

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Speaker 2: We have a close relationship with China, with Russia, and

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Speaker 2: there's no it's no surprise that I have visits for ministers,

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Speaker 2: but Navaldi was not part of our agenda, all.

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Speaker 3: Right, Deputy four An Minister of Cuba, Carlos Fernandez di Costio,

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Speaker 3: thank you so much for joining us, joining us of

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Speaker 3: course today from New York. We appreciate your time, sir,