US Secretary of State John Kerry has attended a flag-raising ceremony at the US embassy in Havana. Kerry mentioned during the ceremony that the opening of the US embassy in Cuba is a “historic moment”.
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During the historical event, Kerry made a statement calling for an end to “mutual isolation”, stating that the two countries have ‘stopped being prisoners of history’.
Watched over by US Secretary of State John Kerry, US Marines raised the American flag at the embassy in Cuba for the first time in 54 years on Friday, symbolically ushering in an era of renewed diplomatic relations between the two Cold War-era foes.
The US flag has finally been raised in front of the newly-opened embassy in Havana.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since the United States attempted to oust Fidel Castro, Cuba’s communist leader from 1959 to 2008.
“[Talking] about going back to Cuba and raising the flag and [James] says, ‘Would you go?’ And I said, ‘Jim, I’d pay my own way if I have to, ‘” Morris said.
In a newspaper column published on his 89th birthday Thursday, Fidel Castro repeated claims the U.S. owes Cuba millions of dollars in damages caused by a long-standing trade embargo.
Some members of the U.S. Congress traveled to Cuba alongside Mr. Kerry.
In an article entitled “Reality and Dreams”, Castro said the U.S. social justice must be consolidated so that all people may have access to education, health and nutrition.
After decades of exile, Cuba and the U.S have restored ties, symbolized by the American flag flying over Cuba.
Opponents of normalizing relations have criticized the administration for not demanding policy changes from President Raúl Castro’s government, which has continued to conduct mass arrests and suppress opposition.
Travelling with Mr Kerry, Democratic senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said lifting the embargo was the fastest way to bring to change to Cuba.
He also called for the return of the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay – which Mr Obama pledged to close.
After speaking to reporters with Mr Rodriguez, Mr Kerry briefly walked Old Havana’s historic Plaza de San Francisco with Havana City historian Eusebio Leal, stopping to look in shops and greet residents and store owners.
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A top U.S. official noted that Cuban dissidents would not be part of the ceremony at the U.S. Embassy.
