Vidal said that ending the ongoing USA blockade on Cuba and the return of Guantanamo Bay to Cuba would be a topic of conversation.
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We still have differences with the Cuban government that I will raise directly. But I’m focused on the future, and I’m confident that my visit will advance the goals that guide us-promoting American interests and values and a better future for the Cuban people, a future of more freedom and more opportunity.
President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will head to Cuba in March drew condemnation from some of the Republicans seeking to succeed him in the White House. And we’re starting to see some progress. “For Cuba, talking about these and other questions is part of the efforts we are making to build a new relationship with the United States that contributes to opportunities and benefits for our peoples”. Obama will meet with Cuban President Raul Castro and civic and business leaders in what the White House characterized as “another demonstration of the president’s commitment to chart a new course”. For a half-century, there has been unremitting hostility between the US and the island nation, and decades of enmity and embargoes have failed to displace the Castro dictatorship and had little effect on Cuba’s human rights policy.
“It will be an opportunity for President Obama to appreciate the Cuban reality and continue to discuss the possibilities of expanding bilateral dialogue and cooperation on issues of mutual interest to the two countries”, she added.
Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the president will carry the message that the US and Cuba need not be defined by their “complicated and hard history”.
“While visits are nice, it’s important for members in Congress to understand what truly has changed with the people of Cuba not just the leadership”, Emmer said. Marco Rubio quipped that Obama is “probably not going to invite me”. Told of Obama’s trip, Florida Sen. “I’ve made very clear in my conversations directly with President Castro that we would continue to reach out to those who want to broaden the scope for, you know, free expression inside of Cuba”. But that would miss the whole point of his trip, if the president is honest in his claim that through engagement with the Cuban regime he will help open up Cuba’s society. Currently, there are about one-fifth as many flights operating between the two countries – all charters.
Obama ended his address with a cheery “Thanks everybody”.
For Obama, the diplomatic opening with Cuba reflects one of the crowning achievements of a foreign policy rooted in a belief that the USA should test opportunities to ease hostilities with its historical enemies.
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KIMT News 3- The last time a sitting president set foot on Cuban soil was more than 80 years ago in 1928, but that will change next month.
