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• 12 / 12 / 2009

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Cuba and Mexico took steps to improve their ailing relations on Friday when their top diplomats met here in the Cuban capital and spoke of the long history the two countries share.

Problems began in April when the Cuban government, concerned about the H1N1 influenza outbreak, suspended direct flights from Mexico, irritating President Felipe Calderón.

Then Fidel Castro, the former Cuban leader, accused Mr. Calderón’s government
of having intentionally put off disclosing the flu epidemic so as not to interfere with President Obama’s visit to Mexico.

In an effort to smooth things over on Friday, Patricia Espinoza, Mexico’s foreign minister, met with her Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez, in Havana and invoked the historic connections between the countries.
 
Mexico was the only country in Latin America that kept diplomatic, political and economic ties with Cuba immediately after the 1959 revolution, prompting Ms. Espinoza to say, “We ought to make sure that our government relations correspond with that history.”

Mr. Calderón had planned to visit the island this year but he called off his trip after the flu issue. His visit was supposed to have been the beginning of a new era of cooperation between the two countries.

Fuente: www.nytimes.com