A U.S. government delegation met Cuban officials in Havana on Wednesday to discuss Washington's concerns about irregular migration from the island, marking the highest-level known U.S. visit since the historic rapprochement under former President Barack Obama.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou held talks with Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio at the embassy in Havana, and detailed plans to resume "full immigrant visa processing" on January 4. The moves were outlined in September.

"This is the highest-level, public visit of U.S. officials to Cuba during the Biden administration," a State Department spokesperson said of Wednesday's trip to the island.

It "shows the commitment and work of the administration to create secure, safe, and orderly avenues for migration," the spokesperson added.

Migration talks between the two countries resumed in April after a long hiatus following "anomalous health incidents" in Havana that affected a number of staff at the U.S. and Canadian embassies, a phenomenon dubbed "Havana Syndrome."

The gravity of the migration crisis, spurred by a devastating economic downturn in Cuba that has led to acute shortages of food, fuel and medicine, have also forced a restart of conversations between the two long-time rivals.

U.S. authorities detained 220,000 Cubans at the U.S.-Mexico border from October 1, 2021-September 30, 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, shattering records set by prior immigration crises, including the Mariel Boatlift in 1980.

The United States wants Cuba to take back more deportees from among those arriving at the border, Reuters reported in April.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a query on whether deportation was discussed on Wednesday.

Cubans have also increasingly been taking to the sea, risking their lives in homemade boats to cross the Straits of Florida. Since October 1, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted 1,588 migrants attempting the crossing.

Relations between the two countries remain frosty as an economic embargo imposed by the U.S. on Cuba in 1960 still has not been lifted. Last week, Washington voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the embargo.

The non-binding resolution was approved by 185 countries and opposed only by the United States and Israel, with Brazil and Ukraine abstaining. It was the 30th time the United Nations has voted to end the embargo.

(Cover: A man moves his wet armchair near the Malecon in Havana, Cuba, September 29, 2022. /CFP)

(With input from Reuters)