As part of the thawing of relations between the US and Cuba, mail will be flown direct between the US and Cuba in the coming months. Ever since 1963, mail was routed via Mexico or Canada to get between the two countries.

Talks taking place in Miami between the two nations on Thursday 10 December agreed to arrange mail to be taken in direct flights from the US to Havana. This will be a pilot, and should the pilot be a success then full service should take place by the end of 2016.

Mail flights should take place several times a week to improve economic relations. It is not known whether e-commerce will begin between the US and Cuba, though one can see an opportunity for exporters to deliver Cuba’s famous cigars to the US in large quantities with the great demand in the US. These could be delivered as the embargo on such products is lifted by the US, where demand for these products have not diminished despite the political freeze.

Under the Obama administration, relations between Cuba and the US have thawed and the Cold War seems to be coming to an end in the Caribbean at least. Various initiatives have taken place to improve economic and political relations between the US and Cuba, including direct flights for tourists and even a yacht race from Florida to Cuba recently. In March, direct phone connections were allowed, enabling telephone commerce to take place.

The US delegation was led by Lea Emerson, Executive Director for International Postal Affairs at the US Postal Service (USPS), and the Cuban delegation was led by Cuban Ambassador to the United States Jose Ramon Cabanas Rodriguez.

In December 2014, presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced a rapprochement between the two countries. They have since restored diplomatic ties and reopened embassies.