Gustavo Machín, deputy director of North American affairs (left) meets with Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine, right, at the Cuban Foreign Relations Ministry on Wednesday.
HAVANA - Miami refuses to welcome a Cuban consulate into its city because its mayor calls it a political flashpoint and a security risk. Cuba and the U.S. hesitate to open one in Tampa because it’s too far away from most people who would need consular services.
A possible solution to the diplomatic stalemate: Bring the consulate to Miami Beach.
Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and Commissioner Ricky Arriola told the Cuban government in a private meeting Wednesday in Havana that, unlike their Miami counterparts, they’d welcome Cuban diplomats in their city.
“It belongs in Miami-Dade County,” Arriola told the Miami Herald. “It needs to go where they’re going to serve the greatest number of its people. Miami-Dade has by far the greatest number of Cubans in the country. The demand is going to be very high.”
Keep reading Patricia Mazzei's story here.
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