Before Trump inauguration Cuba, United States sign oil spill deal.

Cuba and the United States agreed on Monday to jointly prevent, contain and clean up oil and other toxic spills in the Gulf of Mexico, as they rush to conclude deals before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Jeffrey DeLaurentis, upon signing the agreement, said it was one of a series of deals to protect the shared marine environment of the two neighboring countries separated by just 90 miles (145 km) of water.

Trump has threatened to scrap a still-fragile detente between the two countries unless Cuba makes further political and economic concessions.


Cuba and the United States agreed on Monday to jointly prevent, contain and clean up oil and other toxic spills in the Gulf of Mexico, as they rush to conclude deals before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Jeffrey DeLaurentis, upon signing the agreement, said it was one of a series of deals to protect the shared marine environment of the two neighboring countries separated by just 90 miles (145 km) of water.

Trump has threatened to scrap a still-fragile detente between the two countries unless Cuba makes further political and economic concessions.


More than a dozen cooperation accords have been inked to date, ranging from postal services and law enforcement to protecting marine life and fighting drug trafficking.

Negotiations are ongoing over difficult issues such as U.S. nationalization compensation claims, Cuba's demand for embargo reparations, extraditing fugitives and the return of the Guantanamo Naval Base to Cuba.

Last week a deal was struck to export small amounts of charcoal to the United States and in December Google signed an agreement to place servers on the island to quicken access to its products.