Nonetheless, Obama threw down a very public gauntlet to Castro, saying Cubans can not realize their full potential if his government does not allow change and relax its grip on Cuban politics and society.
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Despite the president’s historic trip to Havana, the exhibition game does not mark the first Major League Baseball contest to be played on Cuba.
President Barack Obama says he’s come to Cuba to “bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas”. “You need not fear the different voices of the Cuban people”, Obama said. “We’ll speak out on behalf of universal human rights, including freedom of speech and assembly and religion”.
Castro was blistering in his criticism of the American embargo, which he called “the most important obstacle” to his country’s economic development.
Monday’s news conference also included an exchange between Castro and CNN reporter Jim Acosta, a second-generation Cuban-American, who asked about political prisoners in Cuba.
It was a shocking moment in a communist country where few publicly question the authority of Raul Castro or his brother, revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
The president emphasized that the “world must unite” and said the US will do whatever is necessary to support Belgium and bring the terrorists behind the attacks to justice.
“This is pure history”, said Marlene Pino, a 47-year-old Havana engineer. It’s been almost a century since the last sitting president to visit Cuba, Calvin Coolidge, arrived on a battleship.
Cuba has been criticized for briefly detaining demonstrators thousands of times a year but has drastically reduced its practice of handing down long prison sentences for crimes human rights groups consider to be political.
Throughout his presidency, Obama has sought to refocus USA foreign policy on areas like Latin America that have received less attention than the turmoil in the Middle East and the terrorism emanating from the region.
Obama has said the embargo should end, while Republican-controlled Congress has refused to budge, arguing that Washington is giving up too much to Havana with too little in return.
“We agree with everything he said in the speech”, said Barbara Ugarte, 45, who owns a gift shop. Nonetheless, Obama minced no words in his calls for change.
Some of those invited to the meeting at Havana’s U.S. Embassy were briefly detained by police during a protest demonstration on Sunday.
Deep differences notwithstanding, Obama’s visit is lending itself to powerful illustrations of what future might be possible for the two countries that sit just 90 miles apart.
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The crowd roared as Mr Obama and his family entered the stadium, which underwent an extensive upgrade for the game. Two explosions went off at the city’s global airport and a third explosion occurred in one of the city’s metro stations near the EU.
