John Kerry is looking forward to “an open free walk in Old Havana” and will meet with dissidents at a reception following a flag-raising ceremony at the new U.S. Embassy in Cuba on Friday.
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While clearly the Cuban government won’t change overnight, Zarate said the question is, “can we deluge it with American influence and commerce, and can that [have an] impact as a younger demographic takes over in the country?”
Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Thursday reminded the U.S. that it owes damages to Cuba stretching to “millions of dollars”, while pledging that his country will never stop fighting for peace and the well-being of all humanity.
“This is a new low for President Obama and a slap in the face by this administration to Cuba’s courageous democracy activists”, Rubio said in a statement released by his Senate office.
He will be the first Secretary of State to visit Cuba in 70 years.
Kerry is due to raise the U.S. flag at his country’s embassy in Havana at a morning ceremony, then meet with Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
Meanwhile, many U.S. conservatives fear that the Obama administration has not negotiated with Cuba from a position of strength and has given away its leverage.
The United States said it was “deeply concerned” over the incident but that it would not affect Kerry’s visit. The secretary admitted Cuban dissidents won’t be invited to the flag-raising ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. The Cuban government is demanding compensation for the embargo, as well as for assets frozen in American banks after the revolution. In essence, we’re giving them the back of our hand, Senator Rubio.
“The USA will proceed to advocate for the rights to peaceable meeting, affiliation and freedom of expression and faith, and we will proceed to voice our help for improved human rights circumstances and democratic reforms in Cuba”, State Division spokesman John Kirby stated.
“The Cubans had no say over the invitations to our events”, the official said, “just as we had no say in who they invited to their opening of their embassy”.
A day before the US embassy’s historic reopening in Havana, Mr Castro spoke out in a newspaper column celebrating his 89th birthday.
Castro himself penned a piece blasting several aspects of America’s past, from its use of nuclear bombs in World War II to the “numerous millions of dollars” it owes Cuba for its decades-long embargo.
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Elena Diaz, a retired teacher, voiced a common concern about the motives behind Washington’s warming towards Cuba, saying “the United States is going to continue to harass us, though now they’ll do it in a more subtle and diplomatic way”.
1 Comment on this Post
HIPPO
Pretty sure Castro had helped stirred the pot in the first place by seizing American companies in Cuba and setting up missiles in Cuba with Russia.