Miami priests pray Cuba-U.S. talks will help Cubans, but want accountability – Sun Sentinel

Bishop Leo Frade, the retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, wasn’t surprised when Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel announced Friday that Cuba and the United States were talking and moving away from confrontation.

With President Donald Trump urging Cuba to make a “deal” with the United States after he moved to cut off oil supplies to Cuba from Venezuela and Mexico, Cuban leaders are desperate. Water and electricity are hard to come by, and the medical system is collapsing.

Frade, who brought more than 800 ex-political prisoners from Cuba on seven flights he took from the port of Mariel to the U.S. in 1980, said the worsening conditions in Cuba are the key difference between Cuba’s talks with the Trump administration and with former President Obama. Under Obama, Cuba was still getting support from Venezuela and Russia.

Read more at Miami Herald.