He was greeted on the tarmac by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, before loading into his bulky limousine, nicknamed “the beast”.
Advertisement
For hundreds of thousands of black Cubans, Obama isn’t just the first sitting US president to visit their country in almost nine decades.
Obama is attempting to make the policy shift towards Cuba irreversible even if a Republican wins the election on November 8. Persistent differences remain, including Havana’s frustration with the USA economic embargo and Washington’s condemnation of Cuba’s human rights record.
President Barack Obama, center, first lady Michelle Obama greet children and families of Embassy personnel during an event at Melia Habana Hotel, in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, March 20, 2016. Obama was also hosted on a tour of Havana’s 18th century cathedral by Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who played a key role in secret talks that led to the rapprochement 15 months ago.
“Having a United States embassy means we’re more effectively able to advance our values, our interests and understand more effectively” the Cuban people’s concerns, Obama said.
Obama planned official meetings with Cuban officials, particularly with President Raul Castro, whose assumption of power from his brother, Fidel Castro, in 2008 was a catalyst for change in a frosty relationship between two countries just 90 miles apart. Patrick Leahy. All are supporters of Obama’s effort to normalize relations with Cuba. (What’s up, Cuba?) – on his official Twitter account @POTUS, adding as he landed “Looking forward to meeting and hearing directly from the Cuban people”.
For more than 50 years, Cuba was an unimaginable destination for a US president, as well as most American citizens.
Obama’s visit was highly anticipated in Cuba, where workers furiously cleaned up the streets in Old Havana and gave buildings a fresh coat of paint ahead of his arrival.
“This is a very important moment for Cuba, an opportunity for the country to change”, Sariel, a 23-year-old Cuban who asked only to be identified by his first name, told Mic. Extensive closures of main boulevards were planned during the day, and the city’s seaside Malecon was largely deserted Sunday morning except for a few cars, joggers, fishermen and pelicans.
Obama will spend some time talking with Cuban dissidents. They are typically detained briefly and then released. Obama will take part in an entrepreneurship summit followed by a state dinner in the evening.
Advertisement
Instead, the highlights are likely to be Obama’s speech on live Cuban television on Tuesday, when he will also meet dissidents and attend an exhibition baseball game between Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba’s national team. The two countries broke diplomatic relations after [url=http:// http://www.cubaminrex.cu/en t=_blank]Cuba became Communist in 1961 but have been moving tentatively toward normalization since 2010.
