MIAMI: The United States and Cuba held talks this week on human smuggling amid a surge in Cuban immigrants trying to reach the United States, the State Department said on Friday.

The “technical talks”, which took place from Feb 1 to Feb 4 in Miami, were announced only after they were wrapped up.

The delegations exchanged “information and best practices related to combating human smuggling and travel document fraud, which is important to advancing both countries’ commitment to ensuring safe, legal, and orderly migration”, the State Department said in a statement.

The number of Cubans trying to reach the United States has skyrocketed in recent months, with thousands traveling through Central America in their bid to reach the US border, creating enormous strains in the region.

The State Department said it was concerned for the safety of “all migrants” in the region attempting to enter other countries without a visa or other authorisation.

“These dangerous journeys illustrate the inherent risks and uncertainties of involvement with smugglers and organised crime in attempts to reach the United States illegally,” the statement said.

More than 43,000 Cubans arrived in the United States by sea and land during fiscal year 2015, which ended in September, a level not seen in decades.

The exodus has been prompted by fears that the thaw in US-Cuban relations will end the American policy of automatically accepting Cuban migrants as refugees.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2016