The Legacy of Pope Francis in Cuba
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Pope Francis, the longtime broker of peace between the US and Cuba, passed away this week, leaving a void in the world of diplomacy, human rights, and advocacy for the marginalized. One of his last major diplomatic feats involved the release of 553 Cuban prisoners, announced in January 2025.
His first significant diplomatic breakthrough occurred in 2014, when the Vatican facilitated back-channel meetings between the Obama Administration and the Cuban government, paving the way for the detente between the two countries in December 2014.
From the Pope’s 2015 speech to the U.S. Congress: “It is my duty to build bridges and to help all men and women, in any way possible, to do the same. When countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue – a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons – new opportunities open up for all. …A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism.”
Always open and pragmatic, Pope Francis made an effort to connect directly with people around the world. He took a particular interest in bettering the lives of Cubans through thoughtful diplomacy, and a 60-year impasse between the US and Cuba did not deter him.
The Passing of Pope Francis Leaves A Void in the Global Fight for Human Rights
On Monday, Pope Francis, the head of the Vatican Church, died at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. He will be remembered for his legacy as a change agent in the Vatican, championing the plight of the poor and the marginalized, acting as a broker for peace, and taking the Vatican to countries it hadn’t been in its recent history.
Pope Francis’s diplomacy was largely characterized by his history serving as a mediator between the US and Cuba to facilitate the 2014 rapprochement. When the US and Cuba were at odds regarding the imprisonment of government officials in both countries, Pope Francis wrote letters to then-President Obama and President Castro, urging them to “resolve humanitarian questions of common interest…in order to initiate a new phase in relations.”
In December of 2014, President Obama announced an exchange of prisoners, including the high-profile release of U.S. Contractor Alan Gross from Cuba, the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the opening of an embassy. This historic change in US-Cuba relations was facilitated in part due to Pope Francis’s involvement in the earlier talks. Pope Francis moved forward after this initial breakthrough, calling on both countries to continue down the path of re-establishing relations, a goal which was eventually reached.
As many advances in the U.S.-Cuba relationship were reversed with the changes of U.S. administrations, the Vatican under Pope Francis continued to play a role in attempting to improve relations between the countries, brokering a deal that resulted in the short lived removal of Cuba from the U.S.’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List and the release of 553 prisoners by Cuba.
To many, Pope Francis represented a catalyst for improved relations between the two countries and someone who could convince the governments to leave behind the staunch Cold-War era attitudes that had defined the US-Cuba relationship and pave a new path, beneficial to the peoples of both countries.
Expedia Loses a Legal Battle Over Confiscated Property in Cuba
In a landmark case, a Miami federal jury has ordered Expedia Group to pay $29.85 million to a Cuban–American family for profiting from property in Cuba that was confiscated by the government after the 1959 revolution. The case, brought under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act by Mario Echevarría and his family, marks the first time such a lawsuit has reached a jury trial. Expedia and its affiliates were found to have sold hotel bookings on land in Cayo Coco, once owned by the family. Though Title III of the Helms–Burton Act was suspended for over two decades, it was activated by the Trump administration in 2019, opening the door to legal action. Most similar cases have faced legal hurdles or are still pending.
Judge Pauses the Termination of CHNV
On April 14, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to prematurely end parolee status for 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who came in under the CHNV humanitarian parole program. This comes after the CHNV program was quickly paused when President Trump returned to the White House in January, and parolees were informed that their parole would end on April 24.
Judge Indira Talwani explained that mass parole terminations, without a review of each individual case, are illegal. Explaining the decision, Judge Talwani wrote, “early termination, without any case-by-case justification, of legal status for noncitizens who have complied with DHS programs and entered the country lawfully undermines the rule of law."
As of April 22, there are 83,066 Cubans in the US awaiting the processing of their asylum cases, the majority residing in Florida and Texas. Many of these Cubans are in the country under CHNV parole and have applied for asylum in order to remain in the country. For context, there were only 153 Cubans awaiting asylum processing in 2016.
For these parolees, this means that their notices of immediate termination of parole are stayed, allowing them to remain in the country until their originally issued end date.meaning parolees still have until the end date issued to them before they must leave the country.
Cubans with CHNV Parole are in a better position than citizens from Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela – as CHNV Cubans can apply for adjustment under the Cuban Adjustment Act, something that Cubans with I-220A papers cannot do.
Trump Administration Ends Migration Talks with Cuba
A Senior State Department Official reported to Café Fuerte that the Trump Administration has frozen the bi-annual migration talks between the US and Cuba. They stated, “The Trump administration is promoting a foreign policy that prioritizes the interests of the United States (America First). The United States will no longer engage with the Cuban regime simply for the sake of establishing a commitment and maintaining an endless dialogue.”
Currently, the Cuban government accepts one flight per month of deportees from the United States. A disruption in migration talks could put this flight in jeopardy.
The last dialogue was in December of 2024, and the Trump Administration never announced a date for when the next one would occur. These talks were also suspended in 2018 during the first Trump Administration in response to the Havana syndrome scandal, citing concerns over the safety of U.S. diplomats.
These migration talks were first established under the 1994 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords and have long served as a critical communication channel to ensure the safe, legal, and orderly migration of Cuban nationals to the US. They also created mutual obligations: the US committed to providing at least 20,000 immigrant visas to Cubans annually, while Cuba agreed to discourage irregular migration and accept deportees.
By suspending the talks, the US effectively cuts off a mechanism for resolving issues like repatriation delays, visa processing backlogs, and maritime interdictions—leaving thousands of Cuban families in limbo. Without regular dialogue, there's no structured way for either government to raise concerns or negotiate humanitarian exceptions, such as for family reunification or parole programs, leaving Cuban families nationals increasingly vulnerable to abrupt policy changes.
Cuba Prevents Foreign Companies from Repatriating Currency Earnings
Cuba’s government imposed new restrictions on foreign companies operating within its borders, freezing their access to foreign currency held in Cuban bank accounts. These funds, amounting to several million dollars, can now only be used for domestic operations, effectively barring companies from repatriating profits or paying international suppliers. As an alternative, Cuba has offered these companies the option to open up a new type of foreign currency bank account as part of a restricted pilot program. The advantage of these new accounts is that, theoretically, they would be unaffected by any liquidity problems in Cuban banks.
The change is rumored to have been kept silent by the Spanish government by putting pressure on Spanish media not to report on the development, as it has sparked discontent among foreign investors, particularly Spanish hotel chains like Meliá and Iberostar, which have a significant presence in Cuba's tourism sector. Many companies have filed complaints with their home governments, viewing the measure as a form of expropriation. These measures have raised concerns about the future of foreign investment in Cuba, as they undermine investor confidence and complicate foreign companies' financial operations.
The US Blocks Cuba from Accessing Key NIH Databases
On April 2, the Trump Administration barred Cuba, along with China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela, from accessing 21 biomedical databases maintained by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), labeling them as “countries of concern.” These databases contain vital information on genetic variation, cancer cases, and neurodegenerative diseases, data the U.S. government has classified as “sensitive.”
While the action was announced under President Trump, the initial tightening of restrictions began under former President Joe Biden, who introduced a “technical update” to an existing rule in January 2025, just before leaving office. In the rule, the Department of Justice cautioned that foreign governments might exploit this data, which could be used to launch offensive cyber operations, among other hostilities. Additionally, the agency warned that access to “bulk human genomic data” could enable adversaries to develop new forms of bioweapons.
As explained by Tania Crombet Ramos, medical director of the Center of Molecular Immunology in Havana, “This new blockade will definitely set back our understanding of many diseases and potentially affect patients.” The restrictions are expected to severely hinder scientific progress in Cuba and diminish prospects for future medical research on the island.
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