Washington:
Cuba's de facto embassy in Washington said Tuesday that it would begin renewing some citizens' expired passports despite being unable to find a US bank able to handle its finances.
Cuba halted consular services in mid-February after failing to resolve a long-running search for a local bank.
The Cuban mission will nonetheless begin renewing passports "that have expired or are about to expire" for individuals with trips to Cuba scheduled from May 15 to August 31.
The passports will be issued with the help of "travel agencies with a working relationship with the consular office," the Cuban Interests Section said.
The Cuban delegation was forced to partially suspend its operations from November 26 to December 9 last year after M&T bank informed Cuban officials it was no longer willing to work with them.
The suspension was briefly lifted when M&T allowed Cuba to make deposits until mid-February, after which the Cuban mission suspended the issuing of passports, except for in humanitarian cases.
Cuba has maintained its Interests Section in the US capital in lieu of an embassy ever since the Cold War rupture in relations between the two rivals.
The United States has had comprehensive economic sanctions -- a full embargo -- clamped on Cuba since 1962.
Cuba halted consular services in mid-February after failing to resolve a long-running search for a local bank.
The Cuban mission will nonetheless begin renewing passports "that have expired or are about to expire" for individuals with trips to Cuba scheduled from May 15 to August 31.
The passports will be issued with the help of "travel agencies with a working relationship with the consular office," the Cuban Interests Section said.
The Cuban delegation was forced to partially suspend its operations from November 26 to December 9 last year after M&T bank informed Cuban officials it was no longer willing to work with them.
The suspension was briefly lifted when M&T allowed Cuba to make deposits until mid-February, after which the Cuban mission suspended the issuing of passports, except for in humanitarian cases.
Cuba has maintained its Interests Section in the US capital in lieu of an embassy ever since the Cold War rupture in relations between the two rivals.
The United States has had comprehensive economic sanctions -- a full embargo -- clamped on Cuba since 1962.
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