THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090581
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Pivotal talks with Cuba over stopping the refugee flow are scheduled to resume this morning in New York, with a deal hinging on whether Fidel Castro has dropped demands for easing the trade ban with his island, U.S. officials said.
No important differences persist over the numbers of Cubans that the United States would permit to immigrate annually, a guaranteed minimum of 20,000 a year, a U.S. official said. The special program is unprecedented in U.S. immigration.
The administration is also willing to concede that special consideration ought to be given a backlog of Cubans built up during the past decade who have tried to migrate legally through the American Interests Section in Havana. Although no number has been specified for speeding their entry, the United States will take steps to ``work down'' the backlog, a U.S. official said. Cuba puts the number at about 140,000.
In return for the migration package, the United States expects Castro to crack down on dissatisfied Cubans trying to flee the Communist-ruled island. Talks were broken off Wednesday to give chief Cuban negotiator Ricardo Alarcon time to consult in Havana. Alarcon returned to New York on Thursday. ILLUSTRATION: Staff graphic
Cubawatch Thursday
Refugees picked up
Source: U.S. Coast Guard, Defense Department, National Weather
Service
For copy of graphic, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: CUBA REFUGEES by CNB