Veteran female diplomats leading US-Cuba negotiations

Source: Los Angeles Times

Veteran female diplomats leading US-Cuba negotiations

By TRACY WILKINSON

Los Angeles Times
February 3, 2015

HAVANA, Cuba — As Cuba and the United States prepare for their next landmark meeting in Washington, the future of their relations, at least in the short term and at the critical nuts-and-bolts level, rests in the hands of two veteran female diplomats.

They are not afraid to spar but have also earned each other's respect through years of on-again, off-again dealings and ebbing and flowing tensions.

American Roberta Jacobson and Cuban Josefina Vidal are heading their countries' delegations to reestablish diplomatic ties after more than half a century, overseeing January's opening salvo and heading into the next session. No date has been set, but the U.S. State Department announced it would be in the U.S. capital.

Already, the two have clashed over human rights and the issue of fugitives each country is said to be harboring. Yet, by many accounts, the more public disagreements masked a private, cordial and substantive relationship that has led the two countries to the beginnings of a thaw.

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