A delegation of U.S. Republican senators meets with Cuba's foreign minister and vice president to discuss progress in relations. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met on Saturday (June 13) with U.S. Republican senators Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Patrick Roberts. Jeff Flake of Arizona is part of a bipartisan coalition of eight senators who introduced a bill in January to eliminate the travel ban to Cuba and allow U.S. citizens to travel to the island as tourists. Flake, who has visited Havana in the past, is co-sponsoring a proposal to eliminate restrictions regarding trade, travel and maritime transportation. Collins, from Maine, is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs the SubCommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Affairs. Roberts, from Kansas, is the chairman of the Agriculture Committee. Later in the day, the Senate delegation met with Cuban Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is expected to succeed Raul Castro as President of Cuba. Josefina Vidal, the director general of the U.S. Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also participated in the meeting, which focused on the current relationship between the U.S. and Cuba as well as the embargo. The Senate delegation arrived in Havana on Friday and has met with representatives on foreign investment and from scientific institutions.