Cuban police backed by hundreds of shouting pro-government demonstrators broke up a Ladies in White march on Sunday, detaining dozens of people just hours before Obama landed. Strolling through the grand cobblestoned plazas of Old Havana with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia, Mr Obama created a striking image for both Cubans and Americans of the peacemaking that he and Mr Castro have cautiously but doggedly pursued. Aiming to show that Obama was traveling on his terms, the White House emphasized that Obama – not Cuba’s government – was deciding which dissidents would attend.
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“Obviously our intention has always been to get a ball rolling”, he said, “knowing that change wasn’t going to happen overnight”. In his words, “We’re making it too easy for them right now”.
“It’s a soft war using visitors as the soldiers, commercial airlines as the air force, and cruise ships as the navy”, said John Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
Also on the agenda is a meeting with several CEOs who are in Cuba this week in support of the president’s visit, including Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott; Brian Chesky, president and founder of Airbnb; and Ken Siegel, general counsel with Starwood. “Every day you’re bringing the United States and Cuba closer together”. “If we don’t end the embargo soon, five million American tourists are going to be coming to Cuba, but they’re going to be staying in Spanish hotels and eating Chinese food”.
Still, Obama has promised to talk about freedom of speech and assembly in Cuba. Most notably, the US still has in place a 54-year-old economic embargo of Cuba.
But Mr. Obama will also have time to celebrate the diversity of culture on the island just 90 miles off American shores.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and other senior government officials met the Obama family as they stepped off the plane on to rainy Cuban ground.
The trip, which marks a new chapter in Washington’s engagement with Cuba’s Communist government, would have been all but unimaginable before a detente brokered in December 2014.
The day’s biggest wild card may be what happens after the Obama-Castro meeting.
The president’s schedule in Cuba is jam-packed, including an event with US and Cuban entrepreneurs. Moreover, Cuba was removed from the US list of countries which support terrorism.
A happier demonstration is expected Tuesday at Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano, where the Tampa Bay Rays will play an exhibition baseball game against the Cuban national team.
After greeting embassy staff, Obama and his family toured Old Havana by foot, despite a heavy downpour. Jubilant crowds surged toward the president’s heavily fortified motorcade as it inched through the San Cristobal restaurant.
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Cruz wrote that Obama’s visit sends a message to political prisoners in Cuba that “the world has forgotten about you”.
