Author: Poblete Tamargo LLP

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“Cuba al día” by Martí News – US and Cuba Hold Fifth Bilateral Commission Meeting

On December 7, Martí News discussed the Fifth US-Cuba Bilateral Commission Meeting held in Havana on “Cuba al día” with Tomas Cardoso and Cary Roque Cardoso.

In the first part of the show Tomas Cardoso and Cary Roque Cardoso speak with attorney Jason Poblete about the bilateral meeting between the United States and Cuba. In the second part, Tomas Cardoso and Omar Lopez Montenegro interview the independent journalist Roberto Jesus Quiñones who presents the details of the opponent Miguel Angel Lopez.

 

The original broadcast, in Spanish, can be found here.

 

The State Department released the following Media Note after the bilateral meeting;

United States and Cuba Hold Fifth Bilateral Commission Meeting in Havana, Cuba

Media Note 
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 7, 2016

The United States and Cuba held the fifth Bilateral Commission meeting in Havana, Cuba on Wednesday, December 7. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Mari Carmen Aponte led the U.S. delegation. Embassy Havana Chargé d’Affaires Jeffrey DeLaurentis and Deputy Assistant Secretary John Creamer also attended for the United States. Josefina Vidal, the Foreign Ministry’s Director General for U.S. Affairs, led the Cuban delegation. 

The United States and Cuba reviewed the achievements of the Bilateral Commission since diplomatic relations were re-established in July 2015. The Commission has prioritized and sequenced a number of bilateral initiatives since its first quarterly meeting in November 2015. The United States and Cuba have established dialogues on law enforcement, claims, human rights, and economic and regulatory issues, and have continued biannual Migration Talks. The Bilateral Commission has provided a framework to address trafficking in persons and the return of fugitives, as well as to schedule technical exchanges on law enforcement and environmental issues.

In the last 18 months, the United States and Cuba concluded 11 non-binding agreements, including Memoranda of Understanding on health, cancer research, agriculture, environmental cooperation, hydrography, marine protected areas, counternarcotics, federal air marshals, civil aviation, and direct transportation of mail. In the coming weeks, the United States and Cuba expect to sign agreements formalizing cooperation on law enforcement, conservation, seismology, meteorology, search and rescue, and oil spill response protocols.

The United States and Cuba have coordinated a number of high-level visits, including that of President Obama in March 2016, seven cabinet-level officials, and Dr. Jill Biden. Seven U.S. governors from New York, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Virginia, Missouri, and West Virginia have led trade delegations to Cuba since April 2015. More than 80 Members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have visited Cuba in the last two years, many for the first time.

Purposeful travel by Americans to Cuba increased by approximately 75 percent from 2014 to 2015. Ten U.S. airlines now provide scheduled service between U.S. and Cuban cities, and Carnival cruises are docking in several Cuban cities, further connecting the U.S. and Cuban people. Under the Bilateral Commission, the United States and Cuba expanded educational and cultural exchanges. The number of Cubans studying in the United States increased 63 percent in academic year 2015-16. More than 2,000 U.S. students visited Cuba as part of their academic program in academic year 2014-15. The United States welcomed the first Cuban Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow to the United States. Four U.S. cellular providers offer roaming service in Cuba, further connecting Cuba and the United States.

The delegations agreed the Bilateral Commission has provided a framework for discussion of a wide range of issues. Where U.S. and Cuban interests align, including on counternarcotics, health, and environmental issues, the United States and Cuba have made important strides for the benefit of both peoples. Where the two countries have disagreements, including on human rights, the United States and Cuba have articulated those differences in a clear, productive, and respectful manner. The dialogues and working groups that fall under the Bilateral Commission framework have allowed the United States and Cuba to establish working relationships with counterparts, which are essential to continued bilateral cooperation, advancement of U.S. interests, and progress toward normalization.

The United States looks forward to hosting the next Bilateral Commission Meeting in Washington, DC at the earliest opportunity.

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Moving Forward

The prospective changes on US-Cuba policy were reinforced by Reince Priebus, the incoming Chief of Staff for President-elect Trump who noted that Mr. Trump would “absolutely” reverse President Obama’s opening to Cuba. Priebus further stated, “Repression, open markets, freedom of religion, political prisoners—these things need to change in order to have open and free relationships, and that’s what President-elect Trump believes, and that’s where he’s going to head.”

During his campaign, Mr. Trump pledged that he would reverse the concessions made by the Obama Administration to the Cuban government unless they meet his demands. We anticipate that the incoming Trump administration will follow through in reversing some of President Obama’s Executive Orders. And based on the President-elect’s discourse over the past month, it seems that the orders that are most likely to be reversed will focus on commerce, especially in the areas of banking and credit financing. These and other restrictions, such as tourism, may be used as leverage against the Cuban government to influence the changes that are necessary for diplomatic relations.

Though the current bilateral talks initiated by the Obama Administration had a promising start, the progress has been virtually non-existent. Whether or not the Trump Administration continues the ongoing bilateral negotiations depends on the actions taken by the Cuban government.

In closing, there will be a transition in Cuba after Fidel Castro’s death. The proper question is what will this transition look like? And will it last? One major challenge facing the United States is to win the propaganda battle regarding its policy and put pressure on the Cuban government, who is ultimately responsible for taking the necessary steps for not only lifting the embargo, but also becoming a part of the global economy.

More information on US-Cuba policy can be found here. For the latest news and events check out the following news feeds;

 

 

 

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Al Arabiya Interview on Nizar Zakka’s Kidnapping and Unlawful Detention in Iran

As the Iranian Foreign Minister visited Lebanon, Nizar Zakka’s attorney in Washington, DC, Jason Poblete, answered questions on Middle East and North Africa News Station Al Arabiya about Iran’s kidnapping of Nizar on September 18, 2015.

The interview, in Arabic, can be viewed below, and on the PobleteTamargo YouTube channel, here.

 

 

More coverage on the unlawful detention of U.S. Legal Permanent Resident Nizar Zakka can be found here. 

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Next Congress May Expand CFIUS Jurisdiction

There is no doubt that the United States is one of the most welcoming and most sought out countries for foreign investors; however, certain foreign investments could impair the national security of the United States. Pursuant to the regulations, the president has broad authority to “mitigate any threat to the national security of the United States that arises” from a foreign acquisition of a U.S. company or “covered transaction.”

Potential foreign acquisition of U.S. companies that are subject to CFIUS review include, but are not limited to, investments involving critical infrastructure and critical technologies. Pursuant to the regulations, critical infrastructure includes a “system or asset, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of the particular system or asset … would have a debilitating impact on national security.” While critical technologies include a wide array of defense articles or services controlled for export by the State Department, Commerce Department, of the Department of Energy, among others.

Frankly, many moons ago, as in graduate school years, I was not a huge fan of this process because, at first look, it seems like an unwarranted interference with the free markets. However, decades later and, I hope, slightly wiser, the CFIUS review process remains one of many much-needed safeguards along with export controls that are utilized by the U.S. government to protect and strengthen U.S. national security. Our allies and adversaries are constantly on the hunt for anything that could give them an edge. If they have to steal it, they will. In a heartbeat. Also after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the CFIUS process should become an even more important safeguard.

According to a series of questions presented to the Comptroller General, Congress seems to be a laying a foundation for expanding the jurisdiction of the CFIUS review process. Stressing that the “evolving nature of national security threats” as well as the aggressive efforts by state-owned foreign companies in China and Russia to invest in the U.S. may require a “structural update” of the CFIUS process. They also request a closer look at “soft power” sectors such as the media and other entities that could be acquired by foreign powers or interests and, potentially, used for propaganda. If you think the latter does not happen, think again. In fact, there are reports that certain Fox News personalities have lost their jobs because certain foreign investors on their board did not appreciate certain news coverage about events in the Middle East.

Opponents of the CFIUS process argue that the process is too secretive, onerous and unpredictable. In the long run, it also chills foreign investment. Compared to other federal regulatory processes, the CFIUS process is not be as transparent; however, consider the subject. It can’t be. Despite this, subjecting a potential transaction to a CFIUS review is usually well worth the cost and aggravation. The U.S. taxpayer has tasked the federal government to safeguard national security and the homeland. The benefits of the process to Americans are substantially outweighed by the potential inconveniences that it imposes on potential foreign investors. Remember that access to the U.S. market is a privilege, not a right.

 

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UPDATE 2- Nizar Zakka Celebrates 2nd Birthday as a Hostage in Iran

Statement on the Continued Unlawful Detention of Nizar Zakka

The following statement was released by Mr. Nizar Zakka’s attorney in the United States, Mr. Jason Poblete on the continued unlawful detention of the US Legal Permanent Resident as he celebrates another birthday in Evin Prison.

Today also marks the aniversary of the 1979 hostage taking and seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran.  As Mr. Poblete states, 

“37 years ago today students chanting “Death to America” acting on orders of radical Iranian clerics took 52 Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The ordeal would last 444 days and would mark the beginning of the regime’s war against “the Great Satan” and its people.

“The regime has not changed its ways. It continues to use innocent civilians such as Mr. Nizar Zakka to exact political and economic concessions from the United States and other nations.”

Mr. Poblete continues to urge the United States government and other responsible parties to take immediate action to secure his unconditional release on humanitarian grounds.

 

To read the above press release in Arabic, go here.

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