Cuba, US to resume direct mail service

Diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba were restored almost a year ago, on December 17.

The United States and Cuba broke off direct postal service in 1963, the year after Washington slapped a suffocating trade and financial embargo on Havana that exists to this day, despite Obama’s calls for Congress to lift it.

Worldwide human rights groups say the government routinely harasses and temporarily jails opposition activists to prevent them from taking part in public demonstrations or attending private meetings.

Currently, letters and packages must pass through third countries, delaying delivery by up to a month.

The State Department’s press release was particularly brief and included few details.

Cuba and the US announced Friday they would launch a pilot program to test direct mail service between the two countries.

The Cuban delegation was presided over by the Cuban ambassador to the United States, Jose Ramon Cabañas Rodriguez, while heading the U.S. delegation was the executive director of global relations for the U.S. Postal Service, Lea Emerson. Discussion about reinstating mail service had been murmured about since Obama took office, but discussion stalled when Cuba imprisoned American Alan Gross.

The major effect of regular mail service would be in opening a new channel for the movement of goods between the USA and Cuba, which suffers from widespread shortages of basic consumer products ranging from batteries to diapers.

It’s obviously a small but important step to reestablishing full relations between the countries.