Obama to make historic Cuba visit
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US President Barack Obama said yesterday that he will visit Cuba on March 21 and 22 and meet his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro in what will be the first US presidential trip to the country in nearly 90 years as relations between the former adversaries thaw.
“Next month, I’ll travel to Cuba to advance our progress and efforts that can improve the lives of the Cuban people,” Obama wrote on Twitter.
Obama said that while the United States still had differences with Cuba, it had made significant progress in normalizing ties with its former Cold War foe. The two nations made a surprise announcement in December 2014 that they would move to reopen ties.
Since then, the nations have reopened embassies in Washington and Havana, eased travel restrictions and barriers for business, and have moved to restore commercial air travel. A presidential trip was held out as leverage in these talks.
“Months ago, I announced that we would begin normalizing relations with Cuba — and we’ve already made significant progress,” Obama wrote.
In a post on blogging website Medium, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, wrote: “There is much more that can be done — by the United States, and by the Cuban government — to advance this opening in ways that will be good for Cubans and good for the United States. That is why President Obama is traveling to Cuba. We want to open up more opportunities for US businesses and travelers to engage with Cuba, and we want the Cuban government to open up more opportunities for its people to benefit from that engagement.”
Rhodes noted the ultimate aim is to persuade Congress to lift the trade embargo.
Obama will also meet members of Cuban “civil society,” the White House said, referring to activists who advocate for various social causes.
Prior to announcing the trip, Obama had said that one of the conditions of a visit would be the ability for him to speak to all kinds of groups — including those who oppose the government.
Word of his travel plans drew immediate resistance from opponents of warmer ties with Cuba — including Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, whose father came to the US from Cuba in the 1950s. He said Obama shouldn’t visit while the Castro family remained in power.
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