HAVANA — The United States Embassy in Cuba is reopening visa and consular services Wednesday, the first time it has done so since a spate of unexplained health incidents among diplomatic staff in 2017 slashed the American presence in Havana. Cubans are now the second-largest nationality after Mexicans appearing on the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows. Visa and consular services were closed on the island in 2017 after embassy staff were affflicted in a series of health incidents, alleged sonic attacks that remain largely unexplained. While relations have always been tense between Cuba and the U.S., they were heightened following the embassy closure and the Trump administration’s tightening of sanctions on Cuba. Cuban officials have repeatedly expressed optimism about talks with the U.S. and steps to reopen visa services.

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