JINHA

NEWS CENTER – With the White House expected to announce the removal of Cuba from the U.S. terrorist list at any time, the role of Cuban lead negotiator Josefina Vidal in securing this step, which Cuba has announced as an important goal in the talks, is noteworthy.

Cuba has been on the U.S. terror list since March 1, 1982. With the U.S. State Department officially recommending that Cuba be removed from the terror list, the countries say there may be a Cuban embassy in the U.S. in the future.

That the two lead negotiators in talks between Cuba and the U.S., ongoing since December, are both women is noteworthy. Cuba has made clear in talks that among its major concerns is the fact that it is listed on the U.S. terror list and therefore unable to use international banking services. If the U.S. does indeed delist Cuba in the coming days, this will represent a major success in the negotiations.

Cuban lead negotiator Josefina Vidal Ferreiro is known in Cuba as a leading Americanist. She has been the head of the U.S. section of Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2006. Before that, Josefina had studied in Havana and Moscow, and traveled to American universities as a cultural and academic representative.

Josefina is a member of the Cuban Communist Party's important Central Committee. She has announced that her ultimate goal in the negotiations is to end the U.S.' economic blockade and state of embargo against Cuba.

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