BY ARSENIO RODRÍGUEZ—Granma daily staff writer—

                   THE recent round of migratory talks between Cuba and the United States
                   was characterized by the scrupulous fulfillment of those agreements by
                   the Cuban side and increasing U.S. violations of them. The latter country
                   refused to go into that aspect as the Cubans wished, thus confirming that
                   the migratory issue is still being utilized as a weapon against the Cuban
                   Revolution.

                   The Cuban delegation went to New York with seven important issues for
                   discussion. Those were: the illegal radio transmissions in violation of the
                   accords; the weak response there to hijackings of Cuban vessels and
                   aircraft (seven in the recent months), characterized by the tolerance of
                   the U.S. authorities; the trafficking of immigrants, over which a similar
                   attitude is maintained; the dramatic reduction in the number of annual
                   visas; and the reiteration by the Cuban side of joint proposals to combat
                   terrorism, drug trafficking and human contraband.

                   There was also the issue of the reduction in temporary visas for entry into
                   the United States, made evident by the repeated refusal to grant them to
                   Olga and Adriana, the wives of René and Gerardo, two of the five Cuban
                   patriots imprisoned in that country, with the fabricated argument of
                   protecting "U.S. security."

                   However, the principal issue was the continued application of the Cuban
                   Adjustment Act and the "dry foot, wet foot" policy, which constitutes the
                   greatest violation of all the migratory agreements.

                   During the review of this issue certain aspects were highlighted that could
                   be of interest to the United States, like its border defense, as the
                   haphazard acceptation of Cubans émigrés without any concern over their
                   means of entry into that territory is not coherent with its national security
                   policy. This was even posed recently by George W. Bush, who
                   acknowledged the double standard of his government’s migratory policy.

                   It was noted that 13% of persons intercepted at sea are accepted by the
                   United States, which constitutes a further violation of the migratory
                   agreements.

                   The U.S. position in the face of all that was confined to the response that
                   the delegation had no mandate to discuss U.S. law, thus evidencing the
                   lack of interest in approaching the issue seriously.

                   The TV roundtable information program on the latest round of talks had
                   the participation of Rafael Dausá, Northern American head of the Ministry
                   of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), who led the Cuban delegation; and Caridad
                   Pérez, a MINREX official; as well as journalists Lázaro Barredo, Rogelio
                   Polanco and Reinaldo Taladrid, with Randy Alonso as usual acting as
                   moderator.

                   The issue of illegal radio transmissions was logically raised at the talks by
                   Cuba in the light of the recent actions on May 20 presaging a new scale in
                   the U.S. radio-electronic warfare against the island, which that country
                   has engaged in since the very triumph of the Revolution.

                   The delegation likewise brought up vessel and aircraft hijackings and
                   reiterated Cuba’s firm position in that context, while criticizing the way in
                   which the U.S. authorities present the authors of those acts of terrorism
                   as freedom fighters and even grant them bail.

                   In terms of visas requested for Cubans to participate in academic and
                   cultural events and activities in the United States, there has been a
                   reduction this year in comparison with 2002, whether by refusing to grant
                   them or not granting them in time, thus evidencing an interest in reducing
                   the exchange of cultural and educational activities between the two
                   nations.

                   The roundtable discussion once again demonstrated the exposé by the
                   Cuban authorities that the United States is persisting in utilizing the
                   migratory issue as a political weapon with the aim of provoking a crisis to
                   justify a potential aggression against the island.