Havana, April 21.- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) confirmed today that the transfer to Cuba of 248 citizens of the country, who had traveled to Haiti for private matters, was completed.
In a statement, the Minrex reported that the operation, carried out between April 19 and 21, was coordinated by the Cuban authorities, with the support of the Cuban Embassy in Haiti and the permanent accompaniment of officials from the diplomatic mission.
It explained that, since the beginning of March, the diplomatic headquarters maintained close contact with the Cuban citizens stranded there, as a consequence of the complex political situation in that country.
At the same time, it communicated with other fellow nationals residing in that Caribbean nation, ensuring their safety and addressing their concerns, within the existing possibilities.
According to the Foreign Ministry, at the same time, the population assistance offices of the Minrex and the Presidency of the Republic assisted the relatives and friends of the aforementioned citizens who established contact, in person or virtually.
During this period, the Embassy carried out systematic negotiations with the airline Sunrise Airways, which transported Cuban citizens to Haiti, with which it agreed to keep open the option of returning them to Cuba on its aircraft, once the conditions to do so were created.
Minrex explained that the Toussaint Louverture international airport in the city of Port-au-Prince has remained closed; Therefore, it was not possible to guarantee departure through that route and it stated that the Cuban authorities waited for the best moment to carry out this operation, in order to guarantee the conditions that would favor a safe return.
Other alternatives, including heliborne operations, were not feasible due to the high number of people involved.
The statement points out that the Cuban diplomatic headquarters in Haiti coordinated the voluntary departure of Cuban citizens by land to the city of Cap Haitien, where limited international flight operations are maintained.
It also specified that the Cuban State paid for this unique operation for all stranded compatriots who voluntarily took advantage of this alternative.
As a result, they returned to national territory through the international airports Ignacio Agramonte in Camagüey and Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba, on six flights of the airline Sunrise Airways, which maintained the commitment to transport Cuban citizens, the Minrex concluded. (Text and photo: PL)
