None of that has dissuaded Obama, who insists that any intransigence by Cuba’s government only proves why Cubans will be better off when they’re intimately exposed to American values.
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On Sunday, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president since 1928 to travel to Cuba.
President Barack Obama (center) and first lady Michelle Obama, visit la Catedral de La Habana in Havana on Sunday.
Michelle Obama holds her daughters close in an Old Havana church, in another sweet photograph. “Spanish for “How’s it going?” – upon arrival for his 48-hour visit, which comes 15 months after he reversed more than half a century of USA policy on Cuba and started normalizing relations.
The president will end his day with a state dinner at the presidential palace.
Earlier in the morning, the president posed for a photo with the US and Cuban delegations in Havana’s Revolutionary Square, with large sculptures of revolutionary icons Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos in the backdrop.
Asked by an American television reporter about political prisoners in Cuba, Castro seemed oblivious, first saying he couldn’t hear the question, then asking whether it was directed to him or Obama.
Castro’s lighthearted response came as he and Obama took questions from the press at a news conference in Havana. “And if we have those political prisoners, they will all released before the night ends”, he said.
Obama said he had been aggressive in rolling back what restrictions he can – moves that have triggered outrage among some Cuban-Americans who oppose a softer USA approach. The group, which includes the wives of former political prisoners, was protesting the island’s history of communism. After a series of meetings, the two leaders planned to address reporters.
Since the Cuban president and Obama spoke in an extended phone conversation in December 2014, Havana and Washington have restored diplomatic ties, signed telecommunications deals, and agreed to scheduled airline services. Before departing for Argentina, Obama plans to meet with political dissidents and attend a game between Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba’s beloved national team. Still, many Republicans – including some hoping to succeed Obama as president – have vowed to roll back the diplomatic opening if elected.
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That agreement allows for up to 110 daily flights from the United States.
