All Things Cuba (Castro, politics, etc.)

[CougarKing]

I wonder what Fidel thinks about what his brother is doing with the current US-Cuba talks:

Reuters

Fidel Castro appears in public for first time in over a year

By Daniel Trotta

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, 88, appeared in public "full of vitality" for the first time in more than a year on Monday, greeting a delegation of Venezuelans, official media reported on Saturday.

It was his first known appearance outside his home since Cuba in December agreed to normalize relations with the United States, Castro's longtime adversary.

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[jollyjacktar]

I am sure it was something that was discussed between the two along the way.  I have no doubt that Fidel still has some influence or at least counsel on the country and current affairs.  I suppose that Cuba has come to the decision that they have more to gain than lose in friendlier relations with the US.  Isolation has not really worked for either side.

 

[CougarKing]

I am sure it was something that was discussed between the two along the way.  I have no doubt that Fidel still has some influence or at least counsel on the country and current affairs.  I suppose that Cuba has come to the decision that they have more to gain than lose in friendlier relations with the US.  Isolation has not really worked for either side.

Let's see if the current engagement continues...

Reuters

Obama, Castro to share stage at summit as detente takes hold

By Daniel Trotta and Matt Spetalnick

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro will share the same stage on Friday in an encounter rich with symbolism as their countries set aside decades of hostility and move toward restoring diplomatic relations.

The rapprochement is set to dominate the Summit of the Americas meeting, held in Panama, less than four months after Obama and Castro announced they would seek to lower tensions and boost trade and travel between the two Cold War enemies.

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[CougarKing]

Obama and Raul Castro finally meet...

Our media is also saying PM Harper is there at the Americas summit with them as well.

Reuters

Obama, Castro greet each other at summit amid U.S.-Cuba detente

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro greeted each other on Friday at a summit in Panama, a photo showed, a symbolically charged gesture as the pair seek to restore ties between two Cold War foes.

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[CougarKing]

Semi-related:

Reuters

Pope to visit Cuba en route to U.S., capping diplomatic role

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis will visit Cuba en route to the United States in September, the Vatican said on Wednesday, capping his success in bringing the former enemies together after more than half a century of frozen antagonism.

Last December, Havana and Washington announced after 18 months of secret diplomacy brokered by the pope's diplomats and Canada that the two sides were working to reopen embassies in their respective capitals.

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[Colin Parkinson]

Best thing for the US to do is drop the embargo and then totally ignore them

 

[cupper]

Best thing for the US to do is drop the embargo and then totally ignore them

But then all the American tourists will want to see the prisoners in Gitmo.  ;D

 

[Robert0288]

But then all the American "tourists" will want to see the prisoners in Gitmo.  ;D

Fixed.

 

[cupper]

Moving closer to normalization of relations, Cuba's biggest demand before allowing diplomatic facilities to reopen has been met.

U.S. Drops Cuba From List Of State Sponsors Of Terrorism

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/05/29/410543192/u-s-drops-cuba-from-state-sponsored-terrorism-list

The U.S. State Department announced Friday that Cuba has been dropped from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"The rescission of Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism reflects our assessment that Cuba meets the statutory criteria for rescission," the department said in a statement. "While the United States has significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba's policies and actions, these fall outside the criteria relevant to the rescission of a State Sponsor of Terrorism designation."

National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan, in a blog post, conceded that "while the United States has significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba's policies and actions, these fall outside the criteria relevant to the rescission of a state sponsor of terrorism designation."

"For 55 years, we tried using isolation to bring about change in Cuba. But by isolating Cuba from the United States, we isolated the United States from the Cuban people and, increasingly, the rest of the world," Meehan wrote.

The move follows last month's historic meeting in Panama between President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro.

Reuters notes: "The removal of Cuba from the U.S. terrorism list eliminates an obstacle toward restoring diplomatic ties between the United States and the communist-led Caribbean island state after 54 years."

The decision comes after the White House fulfilled a 45-day pre-notification of the change to Congress.

As NPR's Sam Sanders reported on April 14 — when the White House submitted the request for review of Cuba's status — the move is a major step in normalizing relations between the two countries.

In an interview last month with Morning Edition, President Obama said that the change in the relationship with Cuba is "a real opportunity" for both countries.

"Our hope is to be in a position where we can open an embassy there — that we can start having more regular contacts and consultations around a whole host of issues, some of which we have interests in common," the president told Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep.

Removing Havana from the list lifts some sanctions, but others would remain in place, according to Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

Speaking to All Things Considered host Robert Siegel last month, Jacobson said that "it is as much a change in reputation" as it is about sanctions.

"To be on that list is a mark in some ways that countries bear. But it does take them off of certain forms of sanctions that they will no longer have to be constrained by," she said.

 

[tomahawk6]

Tourism from the US will be a boon to Cuba's economy.Now we cam go where Canadians have proudly gone for decades. ;D

 

[pbi]

Its a risk for the regime to normalize relations with the US.US vacationers will flock to the island.US dollars will flow into the economy and will undermine the regime's control to a certain extent.It will be fun to watch.

And, in my opinion, that was always the smart way to "defeat" Cuba. (Less the brief interlude caused by the Russians) Not by threatening (which just made Castro more popular) or stupid coup attempts, but by normalizing relations.
Does economic interdependence always work as a peacemaker and regime changer? No: of course not-Russia and China being two examples where not much "thawing" seems to have happened on the political front.
But, in a case like Cuba's, where proximity,  massive economic imbalance, and a certain cultural affinity (Hispanics being, IIRC, the fastest growing demographic in the US) all gave the US clear advantages, was it really necessary to prolong the "Cuba Crisis" for decades? How much of a credible threat was Cuba to the US, once the Russians closed up their missile shop?

Or, was it really a case of domestic politics (ie: the expat Cuban vote in Florida as a "swing state") trumping foreign policy?

Anyway, enjoy those cigars.....

 

[CougarKing]

Here we go: relations officially re-established.

Reuters

Kerry urges 'genuine democracy' at U.S. flag ceremony in Cuba
Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:27pm EDT

By Daniel Trotta and Lesley Wroughton

HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared a new era in relations as he celebrated restored diplomatic ties in Havana on Friday, but he also urged political change in Cuba, telling Cubans they should be free to choose their own leaders.

The first U.S. secretary of state to visit the Caribbean island in 70 years, Kerry presided over a ceremony raising the U.S. flag over the newly reopened American embassy.

His comments drew a firm riposte from Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who defended his Communist government at a joint news conference and criticized the United States' own record on rights. "We have profound differences on national security, human rights and political models," Rodriguez said.

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[cupper]

These Marines took down the U.S. flag in Cuba in 1961. Today, they watched it rise again.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/08/14/these-marines-took-down-the-u-s-flag-in-cuba-in-1961-today-theyll-raise-it-again/?hpid=z5

It was a few days into January 1961 when three Marines at the U.S. Embassy in Havana were given a sad task: Take down the American flag. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was shutting down the diplomatic compound and pulling Americans out, a response to the downward spiral in U.S. relations with the new government of Fidel Castro.

The non-commissioned officer in charge at the embassy asked for three volunteers — “the biggest, ugliest Marines you can find,” recalled retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Jim Tracy, then a sergeant. He and two others — then-Lance Cpl. Larry C. Morris and then-Cpl. Francis “Mike” East — were sent out to part a crowd of about 300 Cubans and take down Old Glory, Tracy said.

“We didn’t have anybody on the sidewalks at all,” Tracy said in a State Department video released this week. “They knew what we were going to do.”

On Friday, the Marines, now in their 70s, returned to Havana alongside Secretary of State John F. Kerry to take part in a ceremony to raise the flag again. It has been more than 54 years since U.S. relations with Cuba were severed, but the embassy reopened following an agreement reached earlier this year between Havana and Washington.

Kerry said that tensions were high as the Marines took down the flag in 1961. He recalled how they folded the flag surrounded by Cubans before returning to the embassy building.

“Fifty-four years ago, you gentlemen promised to return to Havana and hoist the flag over the United States embassy that you lowered on that January day long ago,” the secretary said. “Today, I invite you, on behalf of President Obama and the American people to fulfill that pledge by presenting the Stars and Stripes to be raised by members of our current military detachment.”

Kerry called it a “healing mission” to raise the flag in Havana again.

“We are certain that the time is now to reach out to one another as two people who are no longer enemies or rivals, but neighbors, time to unfurl our flags, raise them up, and let the world know that we wish each other well,” Kerry said.

The Marines did not speak during the ceremony. Tracy, the senior-ranking Marine in the group, handed the flag to a current Marine sergeant in a crisp dress blue uniform. The three veterans saluted, and then watched as the flag was raised from the front row of chairs set up nearby.

The veterans were visibly emotional in the video released by the State Department as they described their memories of Cuba and taking the flag down. East, who later retired as a gunnery sergeant, recalled it being uneasy taking the flag down.

“To see Old Glory flying for the last time in Cuba, you know, it didn’t seem right,” he said. “You know, it just seemed like something was wrong, something was missing, you know.”

The men were interviewed earlier this week by The New York Times, and have recalled their experiences in the past. Tracy told the Jacksonville Daily News in North Carolina in January that the crowd outside the embassy was mainly waiting to get visas, and predicted that he and his fellow Marines who took the flag down would return to Cuba to raise one again.

“We’re going to talk over getting back to Cuba and putting a flag back up together,” he said at the time. “It won’t be the first flag that goes up, but it will be a flag.”

The Marines said in the State Department video that the Cuban people were mostly happy to have Americans around and wanted to interact with them. But there were indications ahead of the embassy’s closure that there were dangers looming.

Morris recalled in an interview for the Marine Corps Embassy Guard Association newsletter a Halloween party in October 1960 in which armed militants held Marines and other embassy personnel hostage for several hours. The gunmen ultimately left the party without harming anyone.

“That incident was an eye-opener for us all,” said Morris, who left the service as a corporal a few years later. “It raised an awareness of the increased tension between U.S. and Cuba. We were even beginning to be followed to and from our duty assignments. It was just no longer business as usual.”

 

[CougarKing]

A couple of updates: US Senators Rubio and Cruz probably won't be happy with the first one.

CNN

Obama announces Cuba visit

By Jim Acosta, Elise Labott, Nicole Gaouette, Kevin Liptak and Allie Malloy, CNN
Updated 5:14 PM ET, Thu February 18, 2016

Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama will become the first sitting U.S. President to visit Cuba in 88 years, when he visits Havana in March, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announced Thursday.

The visit, which is scheduled for March 21-22, is another big step by the administration in ongoing efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba.

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Plus something that pertains Canadians who want to vacation in Cuba:  ;D

Yahoo Daily Brew

Restoring U.S. commercial flights to Cuba will challenge Canadian airlines
[Daily Brew]
Terri Coles
February 17, 2016
[Al Jazeera America]

The continued opening up of relations between Cuba and the United States could be bad news for this country’s airline operators, if Canadians begin to cross the border to fly south out of American airports.

The latest development is the agreement signed in Havana on Tuesday that restores commercial flights between Cuba and the U.S., for the first time in more than 50 years. Flights could be available as soon as the fall.

“It is premature to speculate about what impact if any this will have as we do not know what services U.S. carriers will be offering,” Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick tells Yahoo Canada News.

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[CougarKing]

Obama's visit to Havana approaches:

Canadian Press

Cuba plans to lift penalty on US dollar, demands embargo end
[The Canadian Press]
Michael Weissenstein And Josh Lederman, The Associated Press

March 17, 2016

WASHINGTON - Cuba's government said Thursday it plans to do away with a penalty on converting U.S. dollars, but warned the Obama administration not to expect more changes until the U.S. trade embargo is lifted.

Three days before President Barack Obama visits the island, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez dismissed Obama's lofty rhetoric about using his visit to speak directly to the Cuban people about their future. In a stern and lengthy speech in Havana, he put Obama on notice that any attempt to circumvent the Cuban government by lobbying Cubans directly would not be warmly received

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[CougarKing]

The Obama visit to Havana begins: Cuban leader Raul Castro was reportedly not at the airport to meet the POTUS, although he did meet both the recent Popes in that fashion in their visits.

Guardian

Barack Obama lands in Cuba as first US president to visit in 88 years

Sunday 20 March 2016 20.46 GMT

Barack Obama descended on Cuba with a pomp unmatched by the Pope on Sunday, becoming the first American president to visit Cuba in nearly a century, and the first since a revolution led by Fidel Castro toppled a US-backed strongman in 1959.

As he arrived, Obama used a Cuban phrase meaning “what’s up?” when he tweeted: “¿Que bolá Cuba? Just touched down here, looking forward to meeting and hearing directly from the Cuban people.”

A giant American delegation, estimated at somewhere between 800 and 1,200, swept into Havana this weekend, intent on closing a final chapter in cold war history and sealing the diplomatic legacy of Obama’s presidency.

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[tomahawk6]

He will probably try and give Cuba Guantanamo Bay back to the Castro brothers.

 

[cupper]

He will probably try and give Cuba Guantanamo Bay back to the Castro brothers.

Shhhhh.

How do you think he's going to pull an end run around Congress?  [

 

[tomahawk6]

He will sign an Executive Order.
It is interesting that neither Castro bothered to meet the President when he landed.Naturally he wasnt offended and the White House is in full spin mode.

 

[Danjanou]

He will sign an Executive Order.
It is interesting that neither Castro bothered to meet the President when he landed.Naturally he wasnt offended and the White House is in full spin mode.

Well to be honest the Rolling Stones are in town, maybe Fidel and little brother Raoul are fans and were off trying to get autographs 8)
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2016/03/01/los-rollings-aka-the-rolling-stones-to-play-show-in-havana.html