Beyond Cold War snark
Behind the scenes, Cuba and U.S. are often surprisingly cooperative.
HAVANA - Cuba and the United States may be longtime enemies with a bucket overflowing with grievances, but the fast return of a Florida couple who fled U.S. authorities with their two kidnapped children in tow shows that the Cold War enemies are capable of remarkable cooperation on many issues.
Indeed, diplomats and observers on both sides of the Florida Straits say American and Cuban law enforcement officers, scientists, disaster-relief workers, Coast Guard officials, and other experts work together on a daily basis, and invariably express professional admiration for each other.
"I don't think the story has been told, but there is a real warmth in just the sort of day-to-day relations between U.S. and Cuban government officials," said Dan Whittle, who frequently brings scientific groups to the island for the Environmental Defense Fund.
Almost none of these technical-level interactions makes the headlines, but examples are endless.
Just last week, Cuba's top environmental official Ulises Fernandez and several island oil experts attended a conference in New York after the State Department expedited their visas.
And in March, Cuba's leading weatherman, Jose Rubiera, traveled to North Carolina on a fast-track visa to give a talk about hurricane evacuation procedures.
The American government maintains a Coast Guard representative in Cuba, and the two countries work together to interdict suspicious boats. A U.S. diplomat involved in the process told the AP that security officials on both sides are on a first-name basis.
He and other diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss bilateral issues publicly.
"There are so many weird and abnormal aspects of the relationship between Cuba and the United States, things that don't occur between other countries, that when something normal happens, it is a surprise," said Carlos Alzugaray, a former Cuban diplomat.
"It is important to highlight ... that in judicial matters, there is a willingness to cooperate, and that could open a path to other types of cooperation," he said, citing the return of Joshua Michael Hakken and his wife, Sharyn, as a case in point.
The Hakkens are accused of kidnapping their young sons from the custody of Sharyn's parents and sailing with them to Havana. Cuba promptly informed the State Department of the couple's weekend arrival on the island, and worked with U.S. officials to send the family home swiftly.
Both sides praised the joint effort.