Cuba Reportedly Pleads With Vatican To Get The US Off Its Back As Energy Crisis Grows

In the two months since the de facto oil blockade was put into place, the Cuban government has conducted senior-level meetings with Holy See officials — including the pope — in the hopes that they would function as an interlocutor between Cuba and the U.S., according to The Washington Post (Post). On Feb. 20, the senior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Mike Hammer, and the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, held meetings with Latin American ambassadors to the Vatican, according to the Post. The State Department spokesperson told the Caller that the Catholic Church functions as an “important pillar” to Cubans, noting that the Church has worked with the department on several aspects of Cuba diplomacy, including the distribution of $9 million of U.S.-funded disaster relief and advocating for the release of prisoners of conscience.

Author: Derek VanBuskirk

---