Ben Rhodes, a senior Obama aide, later insisted that Cuba has political prisoners and said the USA government had shared lists of them with Cuba.
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In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Sens.
Sen. Flake said landing in Cuba on Air Force One was, for him, a memorable site.
Exchanges between the U.S. and Cuba at an unprecedented joint news conference exposed deep divisions that still remain between the two countries.
Castro also defended Cuba’s record on human rights and pointed to problems in the US.
Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro vowed Monday in Havana to set aside their differences in pursuit of what the USA president called a “new day” for the long bitterly divided neighbors.
He offered Cuba’s recipe for better relations – saying the two countries could achieve much better ties if the United States lifted its 54-year-old trade embargo on the island and handed back the Guantanamo base to Cuba.
The U.S. alienated Cuba for more than half a century.
He said they had a “frank and candid” conversation on human rights and other topics.
Meanwhile, he was irritated when a Western journalist asked about political prisoners in Cuba, demanding the reporter produce a list of those in jail.
“We defend human rights, in our view civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are indivisible, inter-dependent and universal”, Castro said.
“The reason is what we did for 50 years did not serve our interests or the interests of the Cuban people”, he said. He added later, “It’s not correct to ask me about political prisoners in general”. Starwood Hotels Resorts just got special permission from the US Treasury to operate two hotels in Havana, in a boost not for the free market, but for the Cuban government. One stunned woman held a hand to her mouth.
The last and only American president to visit Cuba while in office was Calvin Coolidge in January 1928.
“He is not used to being challenged by real press”, said Orlando Gutierrez.
Video from KSAZ shows that the two did briefly shake hands before the awkward handshake, though. But it looks like Castro intercepted the gesture by grabbing the POTUS’ wrist and the result is this freaky arm flop. “None. None”, Castro said.
Obama, in an interview with ABC News, said he has no problem with such a meeting “just as a symbol of the end of this Cold War chapter”.
When the question period began, Obama’s ease with the format contrasted with Castro’s uncomfortable manner.
Later on Tuesday, Obama will also attend a baseball game between the national team and Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, before flying out. March 21, 2016 in Havana, Cuba.
Obama’s trip is self-consciously historic.
In his first few hours on the island, Obama created indelible images of a new US-Cuba relationship as he walked the rain-soaked streets of Havana and dined at a privately-owned restaurant in a bustling, working-class neighbourhood.
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Obama’s visit is being closely watched in the United States, where public opinion has shifted in support of normalized relations with Cuba.
