- President, First Lady, daughters Sasha and Malia, and Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, arrived in Cuba
- The first family were met by torrential rain that began moments after they landed in Havana on Sunday evening
- Cuba's dictator Raul Castro didn't show up to greet them - he has a meeting with Obama tomorrow
- Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the communist country in nearly 90 years
- U.S. President will also meet with dissidents of authoritarian government that has a history of human rights abuses
- As Air Force One left Andrews Air Force base, protests erupted in Havana over Cuba's human rights record
- First family went on a tour of Old Havana and will go to a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba
- Obama will also give a televised speech from Havana's national theater and meet with entrepreneurs - White House says he will not shy away from using 'bully pulpit'
- See more of the latest news on President Obama and his Cuba visit at www.dailymail.co.uk/obama
The Obamas'
tour of Old Havana was nearly a washout on Sunday evening as a deluge
of rain came down minutes after they landed in Cuba for an historic
three-day visit to the communist country.
The
first family pressed on, despite the stormy skies, strolling through
the Plaza des Armas as they huddled under umbrellas and they made their
way to the Museo de la Ciudad, the museum of Cuba's capital city, and on
to Havana Cathedral.
President
Obama's family - particularly his daughter Sasha - looked less than
pleased as they perched underneath their blue and black umbrellas.
As
the Obama's taxied towards their motorcade, the president wrote on
Twitter: '¿Que bolá Cuba? (What's up Cuba?). Just touched down here,
looking forward to meeting and hearing directly from the Cuban people.'
Cuban
dictator Raul Castro did not greet the Obamas on the tarmac, leaving
the country's foreign minister to conduct the greetings and handshakes
instead. Castro has a meeting with the U.S. president tomorrow morning,
but Obama will not come face-to-face with former leader, Fidel Castro.
As
he arrived in the country, Obama admitted that Cuba had work to do to
correct its poor human rights record, but said: 'Change is going to
happen.'
President Barack Obama waved to hundreds of Cubans gathered in Old Havana as he was taken on a tour amid heavy rain
Obama's huge security detail surrounded the president and his family as they walked through Old Havana during the historic visit
Rain on their parade: The Obamas
looked less than impressed by the rain as it came down hard on them
while they toured Old Havana after landing in Cuba on Sunday evening
Taking shelter: The Obama family did
their best to stay dry as they were led around downtown by the city's
historian in the first hours of their visit
The tour must go on! The president
appeared to be explaining something to his daughter Malia as they were
guided around Old Havana on a rainy evening
U.S. President
Barack Obama stands near a portrait of Abraham Lincoln rolled out just
for his visit as he is guided on a tour of the Museum of the City of
Havana
President Barack Obama steps over a puddle as he and his family tours the cobbled streets of Old Havana, despite the rain
Michelle and Malia Obama were also careful to stay on their feet as they made their way through the old town's center
Long legs: Obama made his way through the rain on an evening that saw him meet with embassy staff at a hotel in Havana, as well
Obama told ABC News:
'The time is right. Obviously our intention has always been to get a
ball rolling, knowing that change wasn't going to happen overnight. We
felt that coming now would maximize our ability to prompt more change.
And it gives us, I think, the opportunity before I leave office to
continue to stay on track in moving things forward.
'Change is going to happen [in Cuba] and I think that Raul Castro understands that.'
He
added: 'We still have some work to do. I think it is very important for
the United States not to view ourselves as the agents of change here,
but rather to encourage and facilitate Cubans themselves to bring about
changes. We want to make sure that whatever changes come about are
empowering Cubans.'
President
Obama, his wife Michelle, children Sasha and Malia and the first lady's
mother, Marian Robinson, touched down in Havana at 4:20pm ET on Sunday,
with the first drops of rain falling as the Obamas walked down the Air
Force One steps.
Obama
is the first sitting president in nearly 90 years to visit the island,
in a trip the White House says will 'deepen' America's relationship with
the authoritarian government following more than half a century of
tension.
Obama
and his entourage were whisked off the runway to Melia Habana hotel to
meet with U.S. embassy staff before their tour of Old Havana, a family
excursion that was ill-fated, given the torrential downpour, but left on
the schedule nonetheless as the U.S. president made a symbolic display
of solidarity with the Cuban people.
Cuban and American flags flew from the president's car as it left the airport in the direction of central Havana.
'This
is a historic visit and a historic opportunity,' Obama told embassy
staff as he greeted them and reflected on the seven months since the
embassy reopened in Havana last July. 'I want you to know, everyone
we've accomplished so far, it's all happening because of you. Every day
you're bringing the US and Cuba closer together.'
Obama
was later cheered as he passed through a square outside Havana
Cathedral, with hundreds of people erupting in applause and shouting the
president's name as the first family stepped forward.
The
Obamas then dined at a privately-owned restaurant in a bustling,
working class neighborhood. Jubilant crowds surged toward the
president's heavily fortified motorcade as it inched towards the San
Cristobal restaurant.
After a short dinner, the Obamas headed to the ambassador's residence, where they are staying during their visit.
The
first family will now spend three days on the island, then fly to
Argentina for another two before returning to Washington, DC, just
before the Easter holiday.
Republican
presidential front runner Donald Trump accused Castro of disrespecting
the United States by not meeting Obama at the airport.
'Wow,
President Obama just landed in Cuba, a big deal, and Raul Castro wasn't
even there to greet him. He greeted Pope and others. No respect,' Trump
tweeted.
Senator
Bernie Sanders, a Democrat seeking to replace Obama in the White House,
meanwhile praised the president for 'making history by traveling to
Cuba and moving relations between our two countries into a new era'.
'This
is an approach that is long overdue....Fifty years of Cold War is
enough. It is time for Cuba and the United States to turn the page and
normalize relations,' Sanders said.
Family outing: The first family
pressed on, despite the stormy skies, strolling through the Plaza des
Armas as they huddled under their umbrellas as they made their way to
the Museo de la Ciudad, the museum of the Cuba's capital city
'Hola... Gracias': Cuban media asked Obama, in Spanish, to say a few words to the Cuban people. He told them, 'Hola... Gracias'
Historic: Cubans and tourists strain
in the rain to get a glimpse of President Barack Obama as his delegation
visits Cathedral Square in Old Havana
The
president is scheduled to meet with dissidents of the oppressive
government, as well as the country's leader, Castro, during his visit.
He will also give a televised speech from Havana's national
theater, Gran Teatro Alicia Alonso.
Amid
the fanfare of Obama's arrival, as many as 50 protesters demonstrating
against Cuba's poor human rights record were arrested in Havana,
including the leader of women-run democracy campaign group who was
arrested in a Castro regime crackdown.
Obama's
first stop after landing in Cuba was meeting with staff at the recently
re-opened embassy. The inclement weather meant the president chatted
with workers at a nearby hotel instead of the consulate.
The
president said: 'Back in 1928, President Coolidge came on a battleship,
it took him three days to get here. It only took me three hours.
'Having a US embassy means we're more effectively able to advance our values, our interests and understand more effectively.
'This
is a historic visit and a historic opportunity. I know it's been a
pretty busy seven months. But I want you to know, everything we've
accomplished so far, it's all happening because of you. Every day you're
bringing the US and Cuba closer together.'
Speaking
to diplomatic staff, he added: 'I'm so glad you brought your families
here because I always like taking pictures with kids. Their future is
what we all work for so hard and I'm so grateful to all of you for
making it happen.'
The
U.S. operated out of the embassy during the detente between the U.S.
and the Castro regime from 1977 until the summer of 2015, but it was
under the authority of the Swiss government, which served as the
protecting power.
It
officially assumed the role of the United States' mission in Cuba on
July 20, 2015, when diplomatic ties were formally restored.
Dozens of people began to gather beside the U.S. embassy in Havana to wait for the arrival of President Obama on Sunday evening
Obama and his wife Michelle approach
Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez (left) as they arrive at
Havana's international airport for a three-day trip. They are seen
taking their first step onto the communist nation's soil
Air Force One touched down in Havana -
just as the heavens let down a pouring rain - arriving at 4:20pm ET on
Sunday for a visit the White House says will 'deepen' America's
relationship with the government following more than half a century of
tension
The President, First Lady, Malia and
Sasha Obama were all on board Air Force One as it landed in Havana,
Cuba, for the first time
Obama's daughters Malia and Sasha
beamed as they sheltered under an umbrella at Havana's airport after
arriving in Cuba on Sunday
Air Force One broke through the gray
crowds as it came into land in Havana, soaring over streets filled with
cars dating back decades
Two Cubans watched the arrival of the
president and the first lady from their home, where a picture of
revolutionary leader Che Guevara (top right) hung from the wall
The
president's spokesman on Friday said Obama will not shy away from using
his 'bully pulpit' on the trip to address human rights violations in
the communist country that the United States was estranged from for more
than 50 years.
'For
more than 50 years, we tried a strategy of saying, well, why don't we
just try to ignore the Cubans and see if they change their mind on their
own. Not surprisingly, that strategy didn't really work very well, so
we're trying a new approach,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest
told reporters on Friday.
Earnest
said: 'The President of the United States is going to get on Air Force
One, he's going to fly to Havana, Cuba, and he is going to sit down with
the leader of Cuba and say, you need to do a better job of protecting
the human rights of your people.
'He's
going to give a speech to the Cuban population, to the Cuban people,
one that will be carried on TV, according to the Cuban government, where
the President will advocate for better respect for human rights.
And
while he's in town the president will 'visit with people who have
previously been victimized by the government, and encourage them to
continue to fight for the kinds of universal human rights that we deeply
cherish in this country'.
'That
is effective advocacy for American values,' Earnest added. 'That is
effective advocacy for the kinds of principles that we cherish in this
country and in our government. And it is, by the way, an approach that
is strongly supported by the vast majority of the Cuban people.'
The
first day of the trip saw the entire first family, including Michelle
Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, take a tour of Old Havana.
As
part of their 'cultural outreach' they stopped by Havana Cathedral to
see Cardinal Jaime Ortega. The Cuban cardinal played a crucial role in
the thawing of relations between the United States and his home country.
The
first family's visit to his church was to 'mark the important role of
the Catholic Church in the lives of the Cuban people', the White House
said this week on a planning call, 'and in the increasing relations'
between the two countries.
On
Monday morning, the president will honor Cuban revolutionary José
Marti, a hero in the Cuban revolt against Spain, by laying a wreath at
his memorial, a 358ft tower, in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución, before
his meeting with Raul Castro.
The
president will be 'very candid about areas of disagreement' at their
meeting, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said, 'including
the human rights practices that have concerned us in Cuba and our
support for universal values in Cuba'.
Both
presidents are expected to deliver statements after the meeting and the
White House indicated on Friday that Obama would likely take questions
from the press, although a formal news conference has not been
scheduled.
Obama
will not meet with ex-Cuban dictator Fidel Castro while he is in town.
The 1950s era Cuban revolutionary turned over power to his brother in
2006 temporarily for health reasons and made the transition permanent in
2008.
The
88-year-old has rarely been seen in public since handing over power,
prompting rumors that he is in failing health. His last observed outing
was in February.
'Neither we nor the Cubans have pursued such a meeting,' Rhodes said Wednesday.
Mrs
Obama will meanwhile on Monday meet with female Cuban students, some of
whom have studied in the U.S., as part of her Let Girls Learn
initiative, the White House said.
The
president and first lady will also participate in a State dinner hosted
by the Cuban government at the Palace of the Revolution on Monday.
The
following morning President Obama will give a speech, in which he will
'review the complicated history' between the countries, the White House
says, 'but also to look forward to the future, and to lay out his vision
for how the United States and Cuban can work together, to how the Cuban
people can continue to pursue a better life.'
Afterward
he will meet with political dissidents before attending an exhibition
game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuban National Team.
'Americans
and Cubans share a love of baseball, and this is yet another powerful
reminder of the kinship between our peoples, as well as the progress we
can achieve when we leverage those natural ties,' the White House's
chief spokesman, Earnest, said Friday.
Obama tweeted 'What's up Cuba?' as he touched down, becoming the first sitting President in 90 years to visit Cuba
The weather is said to have taken a turn for the worse just moments before the President landed
Obama points to the crowd as he heads
to his limousine in the rain. He prepared to meet with U.S. embassy
staff and go on a tour of Old Havana after getting off the plane
Obama waves after his arrival on Jose
Marti Airport in Havana before being driven into the city for a tour of
its Old Town district
Cuban and
American flags were flown from the president's car as it left the
airport in the direction of Havana's Old Town, where he will be given a
tour this evening
Republican presidential front runner
Donald Trump accused Castro of disrespecting the United States by not
meeting Obama at the airport
President Barack Obama waves as he and
his wife Michelle walk into a room with the U.S. ambassador to Cuba,
Jeffrey DeLaurentis (left), soon after the Obamas arrived in Cuba
President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle talk with the staff of the U.S. embassy at a Havana hotel soon after their arrival
Obama's meeting with opponents of the Cuban government has been especially kept under wraps going into the trip.
Earnest
was unable to say today who the president will meet with specifically
while he is there while promising Press a list at a later time and
access when it happens.
Earnest said today that he had not seen the list but provided assurances that it had not been dictated by the Cuban government.
'The
list of people invited to meet with the president in Cuba is
non-negotiable,' he told reporters. 'I would not be surprised if there
might be people on that list that the Cuban government would prefer that
we not meet with...and I don't know whether or not they've raised those
concerns or not.
'But
I can tell you that the President is going to move forward and host
meetings, and have a conversation about human rights with the people
that he chooses to meet with,' Earnest said,
As
observers have noted, it would be difficult for the president to meet
with imprisoned dissidents without working with the Cuban government,
though.
Not
having reviewed the list, Earnest said he was unable to vouch for the
status of the participants, 'but we certainly are expecting the
President to have the opportunity to meet with everybody who is invited
and chooses to come.'
The
Cuban Observatory on Human Rights last month said the number of
dissident arrests had went up - not down - since the U.S. and Cuba
announced on Dec. 17, 2014 that they would resume high-level diplomatic
relations.
In January alone, 1,474 people were 'arbitrarily' detained, the human rights organization told Bloomberg Politics.
This
week Cuba released seven dissidents and allowed them one trip abroad on
the condition that when they return they will serve the remainder of
their sentences out of prison and be banned from additional foreign
travel.
'It
appears to be some kind of gift they want to present to Obama, but in
reality it is nothing concrete because when we come back we will return
to legal limbo,' Martha Beatriz Roque, one of the prisoners, said.
President Barack Obama (left) with
first lady Michelle Obama, daughter Malia and Sasha and first lady's
mother Marian Robinson, board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force base in
Maryland for their trip to Cuba
The First Family head to the plane for
the first leg of their historic three-day trip as part of efforts to
normalize relations with the communist island nation
The president waves to waiting crowds
as he boards Air Force One with wife Michelle. It is the first visit to
the island by a sitting U.s. president in more than 90 years
Michelle also waves as they depart for Cuba. The U.S. president will meet with Cuban dictator Raul Castro during his visit
Sasha (left) and Malia Obama walk towards Air Force One upon the arrival to Andrews Air Force Base, before their departure
Obama buttons up his suit jacket as he steps out of his motorcade and onto the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base
First lady Michelle Obama steps off the limousine upon their arrival to Andrews Air Force Base, before their departure
Malia Obama (center) walks behind her sister Sasha (left) as they prepare to board the plane to Cuba on Sunday afternoon
The first family walk up the red-carpeted stairs on the way up to the plane at Andrews Air Force base on Sunday afternoon
Responding
to criticisms of Obama's trip on Friday, his spokesman said: 'I would
acknowledge that there are places where we haven't seen nearly as much
improvement as we would like, but there have been some places where we
have started to see improvement in Cuba, and we certainly are going to
go and press on those changes.'
And
he said of Obama's meeting with the dissidents, 'I think the symbolism
of the president sitting down with them in their home country and
showing support for their cause will be a really powerful thing I think
both in real terms but symbolically as well.'
Obama
is the only U.S. president aside from Calvin Coolidge to visit Cuba
while in office. He and Castro had a formal meeting last April at the
Summit of the Americas Conference but that was in Panama.
The
visit to Cuba by Obama follows an agreement between the countries more
than a year ago to begin normalizing relations, and 'it signals a new
beginning' between the two countries, acting U.S. Ambassador to Cuba
Jeffrey DeLaurentis told reporters Wednesday.
The
Cuban government says that cannot happen until a U.S. embargo banning
trade and tourism is lifted on the country and the foreign government
returns Guantanamo Bay. U.S. officials have steadfastly said it cannot
have the land occupied by naval base and prison back.
A member of the Ladies in White Human
Rights organization is arrested during a march in Havana. Dissidents
called on the eve of the visit for US President Barack Obama to promote
'radical change,' notably a 'stop to repression and use of physical
violence against all political and human rights activists'
Member of the Ladies in White Human Rights organization demonstrate ahead of the President's visit
Cuban children listen to a group of
Afro-Cuban musicians performing in an alleyway in downtown Havana,
before the arrival of President Barack Obama. In his historic visit to
Cuba, Obama is relegating decades of American acrimony with the
communist country further into the past and cementing a new relationship
between the Cold War-era foes
Several hundred people protest against
US President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba in the Little Havana
neighborhood of Miami, Florida
Members of the Ladies in White Human Rights organization are arrested during the heated March
Accompanying
Obama on the trip are Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of
Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Small
Business Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.
A
delegations of more than 30 lawmakers - mostly Democrats but some
Republicans - will join them. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will be
on the trip, a Democratic aide confirmed. Senate Minority Leader Harry
Reid will not.
House
Republicans making the 90-mile trip south of the U.S. are Minnesota's
Tom Emmer, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Wisconsin's Reid Ribble.
Speaker
Paul Ryan chided Obama this week for making the trip in spite of the
Castro regime's egregious record of human rights abuses.
'To
this day, it is a regime that provides safe harbor to terrorists and
fugitives. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that the president will bring
up the need for reform during his visit,' Ryan charged.
Rather,
he will announce 'new commercial deals between U.S. companies and the
Cuban regime—deals that will legitimize and strengthen the communist
government,' the leading Republican congressman said.
Ryan
reiterated Republican opposition to lifting the 1959 trade embargo on
Cuba, and said 'despite the president's attempts to undermine' it with
his executive actions, 'he is ultimately bound by it. It is the law of
the land.'
HISTORY OF U.S. CUBA RELATIONS
ABOVE: President Calvin Coolidge
The last and only U.S. president to visit Cuba was Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
Obama becomes the first sitting president to set foot there in 88 years on Sunday.
The
U.S. and Cuba were not on speaking terms for more than 50 years
following the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara that
overthrew Western-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
They installed a communist government and nationalized private businesses, including ones owned and operated by U.S. citizens.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded with an embargo and cut off ties with the country a year later.
On
April 17, 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized a failed attempt
to overthrow Castro, known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. The next year
his administration expanded the embargo against Cuba to cover all areas
of the economy.
Eight
months later Cuba allowed the Soviets to build a missile base on the
island as part of a secret accord, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis
and near nuclear war.
The
13-day stand-off involved U.S. naval ships surrounding the country
until the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. came to an arrangement. The Soviets
backed out of Cuba, America abandoned missile bases in Turkey and Italy.
Further
sticking it to the Castro regime, President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966
approved the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allowed citizens of the
authoritarian country to apply for citizenship in the U.S. if they could
escape. The legislation was amended years later to say that they must
reach dry land in the U.S. to stay.
In
1996 President Bill Clinton signed legislation specifying that the
embargo on the country could only be lifted when Fidel and his brother
Raul were removed from power, and free and fair elections were held.
Free speech must also be honored and dissidents must be released for the embargo to be removed.
In 2006 Fidel temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul due to illness. His retirement became permanent in 2008.
Three
years later, during his first term in office, President Obama began
lifting restrictions on travel and remittances to the country.
The two countries resumed diplomatic relations at Obama's urging on Dec. 14, 2015.
Prior
to that U.S. and Cuban officials met in secret at the Vatican just
outside Rome, Italy, to discuss the terms of reengagement.
Critics
of the move say the U.S. got almost nothing in return for the deal.
Arrests of Castro's political opponents have risen and Cuba has not made
the kids of economic reforms the U.S. is seeking.
In
return for Cuba's cooperation, 53 political prisoners, including jailed
USAID worker Alan Gross, who had been convicted of espionage charges,
were released.
The
United States likewise returned three captured Cuban intelligence
operatives in the prisoner swap who were part of the Cuban Five, a group
that was arrested for spying on the U.S. in 2001.
Cuba was later removed from the State Department's terrorist watch list in May of 2015.
The
Obama administration believes the decades-old trade and travel ban on
Cuba is fueling oppression in the island nation and wants Congress to
throw it out.
Tourism
to Cuba is banned but the executive branch has unilaterally relaxed
many travel rules and Americans can now go there for educational
purposes on their own using the honor code as of last week.
Soon commercial flights to Cuba from the United States will also be available, as well.
Congress says it will not lift the full embargo on Cuba until the conditions set during the Clinton administration are met
Tuesday
the president will attend a round table with Cuban-American business
leaders, U.S. government officials and Cuban entrepreneurs.that the
White House says will be focus on 'opportunity for the Cuban people.'
'This
is a sector of the Cuban economy and society that holds enormous
promise in improving the livelihoods of the Cuban people,' Rhodes told
reporters Wednesday.
'And
more broadly, the commercial opening between our countries similarly
has the potential to be a truly mutual interest in terms of providing
opportunities - not just for U.S. businesses, but opportunities that
again help empower and improve the lives of Cubans.'
Ahead
of Obama's visit the United States Treasury Department eased
restrictions on travel to Cuba, ending a requirement that Americans
visiting for educational purposes go in groups.
Tourist
travel will still be illegal - only Congress can lift that ban - but
the government will now use the 'honor code' to regulate approved
travel, making it much easier for Americans to travel to the country for
any purpose.
The
new rules will also allow Cubans to open accounts at U.S. banks and
financial institutions to process American money coming out of Cuba.
It
will further rescind a 10 percent charge on converting U.S. dollars to
Cuban convertible pesos and allow mail, cargo and transportation
companies to have direct presences in the communist country.
House
Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce lambasted the Obama administration
last week for undercutting the congressionally-mandated trade embargo
with its new rules.
'Under
existing law, the president, after consultation with Congress, is only
authorized to suspend the economic embargo of Cuba if there is a
transitional government in place that allows for all political activity,
frees political prisoners, makes a commitment to free and fair
elections, and does not include Raul Castro,' Royce said.
He
added, 'Obviously these conditions have not been met. Instead of
ignoring the law to hand more one-sided concessions to an oppressive
regime, President Obama should be working with Congress to stand with
the Cuban people who long for freedom.'
The
Republican lawmaker said the administration's actions 'will further
prop up a communist regime in Cuba that has a long record of brutal
human rights abuses.'
And
'while the Castros and their agents are given access to the U.S.
financial system, the suffering Cuban people will still get paid in
funny money – if at all,' he said. 'Workers at foreign-owned resorts
receive only a fraction of their salary, sometimes as little as five
percent. The government pockets the rest.'
The
White House acknowledged in its preview of the trip that it would not
'overtly or implicitly' suggest regime change. It is not seeking to
'essentially overturn the government in Cuba' or 'dictate the political
direction of Cuba.'
Obama
'will make very clear that that's up to the Cuban people. Our policy is
focused on helping the Cuban people achieve a better future.'
Republican
Congressman Tom Emmer, a sponsor of House legislation to lift the
embargo, said in a statement announcing his participation in the
president's Cuba trip that 'while there is certainly further work that
needs to be done to address human rights issues it is not a matter of if
the embargo is lifted, but a matter of when and this bipartisan trip is
certainly a step in the right direction.'
'Expanding
our markets, strengthening our national security, and improving
relationships with our next door neighbor should be a nonpartisan
issue,' the Minnesota congressman said.
Obama's
spokesman argued on Friday that by removing impediment to the
relationship with Cuba and other countries in the Western Hemisphere
that do trade with the country, 'we've actually shined a bright light on
the human rights situation in Cuba that does, in some ways, actually
put more pressure on them to implement the kinds of long-overdue
political and economic reforms there.'
Cuban nationals may now be hired at U.S. businesses, as well.
This
rule change could have an immediate effect on hiring within Major
League Baseball teams, though it is still up to the Cuban government to
approve a direct hire process that would allow natives of the country to
join U.S. team without defecting.
In
February the U.S. and Cuba reached an agreement to allow commercial
travel between the U.S. and the island nation. Airlines were invited to
submit bids and final decisions will be made before the end of this
year.
Obama is the only U.S. president aside
from Calvin Coolidge to visit Cuba while in office. Coolidge is seen
here in January of 1928 making his way through Havana in a town car
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