Barack Obama has arrived in Cuba, marking the first U.S. President to visit the country in almost 90 years.
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Ahead of Obama’s arrival, counter-protesters and police broke up an anti-government demonstration by the Ladies in White group, whose members were taken into custody by female police officers in a scene that plays out in Havana each Sunday.
The visit which ends on Tuesday, the first by a USA president since 1928, marks the most important moment since Obama and Castro agreed in December 2014 to restore diplomatic ties and end half a century of hostility following Cuba’s revolution, which ousted a pro-American government in 1959.
A formal welcoming ceremony will take place on Monday when Obama meets Cuban President Raul Castro at the presidential palace, Reuters reported.
When Cuban leader Raúl Castro was asked which of two USA presidential candidates he preferred – Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump – Castro seemed to dodge the question, saying, “Well, I can not vote in the United States”, as the crowd laughed.
The president’s schedule in Cuba is jam-packed, including an event with US and Cuban entrepreneurs. US corporate activity was previously prohibited under the USA economic embargo of Cuba. Geographically, Cuba is considered part of North America.
Barack Obama is in Cuba on an historic visit. It is mostly the economic effect of Obama’s visit that Cubans are eager to see, as Venezuela’s economic downturn has put pressure on the island’s economy and living standards.
Obama’s first remarks of the trip came in an informal meeting with US embassy staffers at a local hotel, erroneously referring to the highest ranking USA diplomat in Havana, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the US charge d’affairs, as “ambassador”. He will also hold talks with dissidents, address Cubans live on state-run media and attend an exhibition baseball game. Narcis Vallant says no matter which team comes out on top, both countries will be winners.
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Before the talks, President Obama will lay a wreath by the statue of national hero Jose Marti at the Plaza of Revolution where there is also a portrait of Che Guevara – the global revolutionary icon.
