Cuba Accord: A Welcome Beginning

In diplomatic terms, the announcement that U.S. State Department negotiators have reached agreement with the government of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro on a joint plan to stem the chaotic flight of refugees from that island is encouraging. But the announcement is sketchy on some key details, so it remains to be seen whether it is as promising as the White House claims.

It could be several days, for example, before the agreement has any visible effect on the latest exodus of desperate Cubans to this country, most of whom make the dangerous journey in small rafts or even inner tubes. The Coast Guard is currently picking up about 1,000 Cuban refugees each day in the Florida Straits. How many may have departed in the last day or so and remain at sea is simply not known.

The agreement requires that the Castro government “take effective measures in any way it possibly can” to prevent the unsafe departure of Cuban citizens for the United States, according to a joint communique issued by the two governments in New York, the site of negotiations. Castro clearly has the police he would need to keep his country’s citizens from undertaking dangerous sea journeys to the United States. But when one recalls the harsh tactics Castro has used to keep a tight rein on his island nation in the past, a term like “effective measures” sounds scary.

Granted, Cuban officials have promised to take no repressive measures against would-be refugees--even those who return to Cuba. But after 35 years of bad relations and mistrust between Washington and Havana, it is understandable if many U.S. citizens, especially Cuban Americans, are dubious about how good Castro’s word is.

In exchange for Castro’s cooperation in halting the exodus, Washington agreed to increase the number of Cubans granted legal entry visas to at least 20,000 per year from the current annual average of slightly more than 3,000.

But the agreement says nothing about letting Cubans who live in this country send U.S. currency to relatives on the island, a practice that had become commonplace in recent years but which was prohibited by the Clinton Administration when the latest refugee flow reached crisis proportions. While the flow of dollars into Cuba was small, it helped relieve the genuine hardship many Cuban families faced as Castro’s state-run economy crumbled. Their privation also fed the desperation that caused the latest surge of refugees.

The transfer of dollars and other steps that could be taken to relieve suffering in Cuba as the Castro regime implodes must be on the agenda in future U.S.-Cuba negotiations--and there indeed must be more talks to follow up on this successful start. The end clearly is near for Castro. It is only prudent for the Clinton Administration to be prepared for whatever comes next. The best way to be prepared is to keep the lines of communication to Havana open.