The Line Starts Now

The U.S. agrees to accept more legal refugees as long as Castro keeps the rafters home

Fidel Castro's envoys did their best to slide his main complaint across the bargaining table, but the U.S. negotiators slid it right back. After seven days of talks in New York City, the Cubans had to settle for what the Americans offered in the first place: a narrow agreement on immigration. They got nowhere on the issue that Castro blames most for his economic problems: the 32-year-old U.S. trade embargo. The deal sealed in New York last Friday amounted to a simple swap: the U.S. will take in at least 20,000 legal Cuban immigrants each year, and Havana will halt the...

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