Details of Bad Cuba Deal Emerge

Buried in a Politico story about the Obama Administration's unmerited upgrade of Cuba in the trafficking watch list, some details are revealed about the deal cut to establish diplomatic relations with the Castro dictatorship.

As we'd posted before, the details had been shrouded in secrecy.

Now we know why. Because it's bad -- real bad.

Here's the bottom line:

The deal "negotiated" by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson for the opening of embassies allows for only 4 out of 76 U.S. diplomats in Havana to have unrestricted movement on the island.

That's right -- 4 out of 76.  

That is what Jacobson "achieved" in six months of negotiations.

Never mind that it's in direct contravention of Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that "the receiving State shall ensure to all members of the mission freedom of movement and travel in its territory."

Not only is this incompetent -- allowing restrictions on 95% of our diplomats in Havana -- but it's in violation of international law.

It is also unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere -- though not for long, as surely Maduro and Co. are aware of the "sweet deal" given to Castro, and will want a similar one.

And what about the inviolability of the diplomatic pouch, which is also required by international law?

You guessed it -- the Obama Administration caved on that as well.

Excerpt from Politico:

The State Department has declined to make public many elements of its agreement with Cuba on reopening embassies, although it has offered classified briefings to lawmakers. It has declined repeated requests from POLITICO for details and will not say if it’s common to keep such data under wraps.

However, a congressional aide and an administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, shed some light on the agreement.

The sources said that the top four diplomats at both the Cuban mission in Washington and the U.S. Embassy in Havana will have unrestricted travel rights. The remaining diplomats will have to give notification — though not obtain permission — of a few days at most before they pursue any travel.

The administration official added that each country would be allowed to have 25 additional diplomats based in each other’s capitals. The congressional aide, meanwhile, noted that American lawmakers worried about the agreement were more concerned about Cuban activities on U.S. soil than vice versa.

According to an 2014 inspector general’s report, the U.S. interests section in Havana had 51 American diplomats and more than 300 Cuban employees. Kerry is due to visit the Cuban capital on Aug. 14 to celebrate the reestablishment of a U.S. Embassy.