Cuba to Hand Over Hakken Family to US
HAVANA TIMES — The government of Raul Castro confirmed today that an American couple who kidnapped their two children after losing custody arrived to Cuba with the kids on Sunday.
Cuban officials expressed a willingness to turn them over to U.S. authorities.
Joshua Hakken, his wife Sharyn and their two children arrived in Havana on board the yacht “Salty Pew” at the Marina Hemingway, a touristic marina for fishing on the outskirts of the capital.
The couple allegedly kidnapped the two children on Wednesday from their grandmother’s house in Tampa, Florida.
The Hakkens apparently had recently lost custody of their children for drug use.
U.S. media today pointed to the possibility that the couple was found in Cuba after the kidnapping.
“After receiving the press reports that associated the Hakkens with a case of child abduction, the Cuban authorities reported their presence in Cuba,” noted Josefina Vidal, an official at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
The government led by Raul Castro said it has been in touch from the beginning with the US Interests Section in Havana on the case and reportedly informed them today, “the willingness of the Cuban government to deliver” the family to the US authorities.
This is very good and encouraging news. A positive turn in US -Cuban relations is helped by small yet meaningful actions which build trust.