As if Saturday's Havana-bound flight from New Orleans wasn't promising enough, Monday's last-minute meeting between delegates was another sign of strengthened United States-Cuba relations.
Roberta Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, met Cuban counterpart Josefina Vidal in an open-ended round of negotiations aimed at making progress before next month's Summit of the America's meeting in Panama. Unlike meetings in January and February, Monday's talks were void of media coverage and any scheduled statement to the press.
"Their focus is on rolling up their sleeves, and having tough discussions, and getting the work done," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington. Jacobson's trip wasn't announced until less than 48 hours before her flight.
On Dec. 17, 2014, President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro broke a 53-year stalemate on diplomacy talks, initially reopening embassies and easing trade restrictions. The first round of talks began a month later with negotiators routinely issuing progress updates. Last month, both sides showed optimism at resolving some of the bigger sticking points before April's trip to Panama.
Cuba wants be removed from the State Department's list of sponsors for terrorism. The U.S. wants unrestricted travel for diplomats across the island. Purposely left off the table was a potential closing of Guantanamo Bay; the controversial detention center abhorred by human rights organizations.
"The issue of Guantanamo is not on the table in these conversations," Jacobson told lawmakers last month." Cuba has referenced the topic but Jacobson said "we are not interested in discussing that."
The group aboard Saturday's direct flight to Cuba - the first departing U.S. soil since 1958 - carried nearly 80 Louisiana civic and business leaders. They are attending the week-long Cuba Hoy Conference designed to strengthen bonds between the countries' business class.
The flight comes on the heels of IDT and Cuban state-owned Etecsa's telecommunication agreement making it possible for people to phone each other. The Feb. 19 deal allows friends and families in each country to call each other for the first time in 15 years.
Additionally, U.S. soccer club the New York Comets and the Cuban national soccer team on Monday jointly announced a June 2 friendly in Havana. It will be an American team's first visit to the island in 37 years.