Obama said the latest meeting is “a symbol of the end of this Cold War chapter.”
HAVANA — Laying bare a half-century of tensions, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro prodded each other Monday over human rights and the longstanding U.S. economic embargo during an unprecedented joint news conference that stunned Cubans unaccustomed to their leaders being aggressively questioned. The exchanges underscored
“That conscience is ingrained in our internationalism, and is at the essence of our policies of international solidarity. It won’t change just because we establish a normal relationship with the U.S. or any other government,” the Cuban Five’s René González tells MintPress News.
HAVANA, Cuba --- The December 2014 announcement that Cuba and the United States would be normalizing relations was met with both eagerness and suspicion. The diplomatic negotiations which led to the release of the remaining three members of the Cuban Five being held in the U.S. in exchange for USAID subcontractor Alan Gross and an unidentified U.S.
The normalization of relations could be hailed as a positive move, but given the history of U.S. intervention under the guise of democracy, not everyone is convinced that the U.S. isn’t simply manipulating diplomacy to subvert the island’s revolutionary forces.
WASHINGTON --- Feelings of anticipation and a sense of foreboding are both attending Cuba and the United States’s progress on plans to re-establish full diplomatic relations. The negotiations, which started in mid-2013, were announced publicly on Dec. 17, 2014, when the three remaining “Cuban 5” were released in exchange for USAID subcontractor
“I respect Obama, but I do not trust him,” Maduro said on Saturday. “We’ve never been against the U.S. We’re anti-imperialist.”
US President Barack Obama, right, smiles as he looks over towards Cuban President Raul Castro, left, during their meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015. U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro began talks in Panama on Saturday in the first face-to-face meeting between
So far, the normalization of relations has meant Cuba must capitulate to U.S. interests while the U.S. refuses to budge on issues that are of paramount concern to Cuba — in particular, the return of Guantanamo.
An American flag flies behind the barbed and razor-wire at the Camp Delta detention facility, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. Photo: Brennan Linsley/AP The normalization process in relations between Cuba and the United States -- a process kicked off with a December prisoner swap which saw the release of USAID subcontractor Alan
The resumption of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba creates space for dialogue and cooperation. Media in both countries are cheering on the recent prisoner swap, but is it all just a sign that Cuba’s revolutionary days are numbered?
Javier Yanez stands on his balcony where he hung a U.S. and Cuban flag in Old Havana Cuba, Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. After the surprise announcement on Wednesday of the restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the U.S., many Cubans expressed hope that it will mean greater access to jobs and the comforts taken for granted elsewhere, and lift
