But the president’s visit has also heightened tensions within the island nation – tensions that were on display Sunday prior to the arrival of Air Force One.
Advertisement
Obama is singling out three Cubans who have worked at the USA diplomatic mission in Cuba for decades: a guard, driver and a worker from the visa section.
Two elderly ladies Sunday morning attending Iglesia de Santa Rita de Casia, a Catholic church in the Miramar neighborhood of the city, said they were very enthusiastic about Obama’s arrival. As the presidential plane was landing, Mr. Obama sent a Twitter message intended for Cuban people: “Que bolá?” meaning “What’s happening?” Obama’s trip is a crowning moment in his and Cuban President Raul Castro’s ambitious effort to restore normal relations between their countries.
Before departing Cuba on Tuesday, Obama will take in a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team. Here Obama met with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who is credited, along with Pope Francis, with helping forge a thaw of a half-century of bitterness between the US and Cuba, two countries… with only 90 miles between them.
His three-day visit will include a meeting with Cuba’s president Raúl Castro, 84. Havana is also unhappy with USA support for dissidents and anti-communist radio and TV programs beamed into Cuba. But a torrential downpour forced Obama and his delegation to move inside to a hotel meeting room, the New York Times reported.
“It’s a historic opportunity to engage directly with the Cuban people”, Obama told staff at the newly reopened US Embassy.
Although the arrests are an nearly weekly feature and the protesters are quickly released, the incident was embarrassing ahead of Obama’s landmark visit.
Airbnb will now let travelers from outside the U.S.to book properties in Cuba after receiving authorization from the US government, reports the Associated Press.
Obama’s events while in Cuba will take place nearly entirely in Cuban government sites with tightly controlled guest lists.
Mr Obama’s critics at home say the visit is premature and that human rights issues need to be addressed. He was greeted on the tarmac by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, before loading into his bulky limousine, nicknamed “the beast”. They will all stay at the USA ambassador’s residence. The changes have allowed hundreds of thousands of people to work in the private sector and have relaxed limits on cellphones, Internet and Cubans’ comfort with discussing their country’s problems in public, for example.
Starwood becomes the first United States hotel company to sign a deal with Cuba since the 1959 revolution, announcing a multimillion-dollar investment to manage and market two properties in Havana and signing a letter of intent to operate a third.
Advertisement
The U.S. continues to remain skeptical of the Cuban government’s restrictions on media and publicly critical speech, along with its human rights policies.
