House Hearing on Cuba: Gitmo ‘Not on the Table’

John Moore/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson, the lead diplomat for the U.S. in reestablishing ties with Cuba, was on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a hearing on the island nation.

Here are some things we learned about the talks:

1. Guantanamo is not on the table.

“The issue of Guantanamo is not on the table,” Jacobson said during the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday.

“Obviously the Cuban government has raised Guantanamo — we are not interested in discussing that or the return of Guantanamo,” she said.

2. U.S. will continue to press Cuba on fugitives.

Congress wants the return of fugitives currently hiding out in Cuba as part of these talks. Jacobson assured the House committee, “This is a very high priority for us.

“All of these cases we will continue to pursue. We are going to have further dialogue on cases of law enforcement. This is critical to us,” she said.

Cuba harbors around 70 U.S. fugitives, according to the FBI.

3. Rep. Albio Sires is classified as a terrorist by the Cuban government.

The Cuban born congressman who moved to the U.S. at the age of 11 told a story of how he asked his aunt to get a copy of his birth certificate from Cuba but she wasn’t able to.

The “Cuban government told my aunt we can’t give you a birth certificate because we have him classified as a terrorist,” Sires, D-N.J., said.

4. Members of Congress are not pleased they were kept in the dark about the policy changes.

More than one member emphasized how “troublesome” it was that Congress was left in the dark on negotiations to reopen diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “Members of Congress were left in the dark. Most of the Administration — including the State Department — was left in the dark.”

The negotiations were led by the White House/National Security Council — deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes and NSC’s top Latin American specialist, Ricardo Zuniga. Jacobson was only brought in weeks before the announcement.

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