US president Barak Obama has made global news with his three-day visit to Cuba. This is the first time that a US president has visited Cuba in 88 years, despite the fact that the island is less than 150 km off the American coast. The visit comes after the unexpected relaxation of tensions between the two countries as they opened embassies last year.
On the first day of Obama’s visit, Sunday, March 20, he and his family toured “Old Havana,” the downtown section of Cuba’s capital. This walk, designed to let him meet some locals, was somewhat unsuccessful due to heavy rains. Obama also met the staff at the American embassy and ate dinner at a private restaurant.
Monday and Tuesday promise to be the more important days of Obama’s visit. At the time of this writing, he is slated to meet with the Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday, and meet dissidents and give a public speech on Tuesday. The White House has specifically ruled out a formal meeting between Obama and Raul’s brother Fidel Castro, the long-time leader of island who lead the communist revolution that initially destroyed US-Cuban relations.
The US presidential visit to Cuba is a symbol for the new economic cooperation that has already begun between the two countries. While the embargo put in place after the 1959 revolution remains in place, there has already been some increase in economic cooperation. For instance, tourism in Cuba is at an all-time high, even though Americans remain under a now slightly-lightened travel ban. Furthermore, the US hotel company Starwood just announced a large deal in which it will renovate and then run three Havana hotels.
The relaxing of tensions will also create economic benefits for the American economy. The embargo, which is still in place since a vote from congress is needed to remove it, is estimated to be costing the US economy $1.2 billion per year.
Cuban-American relations still have a long way to go. The Cuban regime is still seen as repressive; they arrested protestors calling for the release of political prisoners on the day of Obama’s arrival. And the economic boycott has yet to be lifted. But thanks to the secret talks that took place in Canada and the Vatican to initiate this period of increasing cooperation, relations are closer than they have been in almost 60 years.
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