HAVANA – North Korea's King Jong-un sent Ri Yong Ho, his foreign minister and a delegation to Havana to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro's administration, the Korean Central News Agency reported Friday.
The visit comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump nearly halted the previous administration's attempt at normalizing relations. The Trump administration's sanction efforts aim to isolate North Korea.
More news from Havana:
FAMILY REUNIFICATION PROGRAM
Cubans wanting to come to the United States through family reunification will have to wait longer.
The U.S. State Department announced Thursday on Facebook that they are working with the Department of Homeland Security to respond to requests for visas under the Cuban family reunification program.
All of the interview appointments for the program were cancelled, after the U.S. pulled most of their staff out of the U.S. embassy in Havana in September. Safety concerns over the reported sonic attacks that injured 24 U.S. citizens prompted the U.S. State Department's precautions.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT
Amnesty International released a report claiming the reason why there is little dissent on the Communist island is because the government is the largest employer. The government also controls Cuba's emerging, and highly regulated private sector.
"Many cubans feel suffocated by a web of state-control over their daily lives part of that control is: If you want to hold a job, you have to agree with everything the government says," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
Researchers said the interviewed more than 60 Cuban migrants in various cities in Mexico. Cuba is the only country in the Americas where the international organization is not allowed to officially visit.
GENERAL'S SON'S BUSINESS
Cuban police officers shut down the popular Restaurante Starbien Wednesday in Havana's Vedado neighborhood.
José Raúl Colomé, the son of the powerful Gen. Abelardo "El Furry" Colomé, co-owned the paladar. He and his associate Osmani Cisneros were detained. He reportedly lived there with his mother, Hilda Torres Beltrán.
Gen. Colomé, 76, was the vice president of the council of state of Cuba, belonged to the 14-member Politburo, the highest authority within the Communist Party, and was also a Cuban minister of the interior. He resigned due to failing health in 2015.