John Koehler, center, a tourist from Wisconsin taking a cultural trip to Cuba, poses for a portrait with locals while holding a copy of USA Today newspaper and showing its front page article on the softening of travel rules for Americans in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. AP
HAVANA — The highest-level U.S. delegation to Cuba in decades begins two days of negotiations amid grand promises by President Barack Obama about change on the island and a somber warning from Cuba to abandon hopes of reforming the communist government.
The delegation arrives Wednesday for conversations about a continuation of efforts by both sides to promote what the State Department calls “safe, legal and orderly migration.” That covers everything from the security of charter flights between Miami and Havana to rooting out fraudulent passports and partnering on potential search-and-rescue missions.
Thursday’s talks are trickier, scheduled to deal with the mechanics of re-establishing a U.S. Embassy in Havana headed by an ambassador, and a Cuban Embassy in Washington.
The US and Cuba haven’t had diplomatic relations since 1961.
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