President Barack Obama embarks on the U.S.’s first official trip to Cuba since 1928

Pres. Barack Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Raúl Castro in Havana, Cuba on March 21. Pres. Obama was the first U.S. president to make an official visit to the country since Pres. Calvin Coolidge. I have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people, Pres. Obama said. 
Used with permission from Getty Images.

Pres. Barack Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Raúl Castro in Havana, Cuba on March 21. Pres. Obama was the first U.S. president to make an official visit to the country since Pres. Calvin Coolidge. “I have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people,” Pres. Obama said. Used with permission from Getty Images.

“Despite the difficulties, we will continue to move forward,” President Barack Obama affirmed at a press conference in Cuba on Monday, March 21. This historic meeting marked the first time since 1928 that a U.S. president has embarked on an official visit to the country. President Obama was welcomed by Cuban President Raúl Castro in Havana to discuss the future and possible solutions to some of the pain that has inflicted the countries’ relationship.

Specifically, this discussion revolved around the issues of human rights and trade. Cuba has an extensive history of human rights violations, possessing “the most restrictive laws on free speech and press freedom in the Americas,” according to Freedom House. Similarly, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba reported over 6 thousand incarcerations of human rights activists in 2013 alone.

When a reporter questioned Pres. Castro about this issue, he retorted with, “Give me a list after this press conference. If there are political prisoners, they will be released by nightfall.” In regards to this issue, Obama fixated on the United States’ role in the matter, enforcing its unwavering advocacy for free speech and expression.

However, President Obama reiterated his stance: the United States cannot impose change upon the country.

Additionally, the leaders discussed the strained state of trade between the two nations. Since the 1960s, the heart of the Cold War, an extensive series of sanctions by the United States forbade relatively all trade and tourism between the United States and Cuba. Both the United States and Cuba have formally acknowledged the inadequacy of the blockade, with Pres. Obama even stating, “Decades of isolation have not worked, so it’s time to try something new.”

Looking ahead, President Obama ensured termination of the embargo, though he refrained to answer the question of when that would occur.

Unlike trade, the restrictions on tourism seem to be dissolving at an exceedingly swift rate. Notably, The Miami Herald disclosed that the “…Carnival Corporation gained approval on Monday to sail from Miami into the port of Havana in May.”

The inception of change between the United States and Cuba is now. Showing the beginnings of change, Pres. Obama announced, “This is a new day — es un nuevo dia — between our two countries.”

 

The United States and Cuba have had a strained relationship. Despite this barrier, President Barack Obama and President Raúl Castro met on March 21 to discuss their future affairs. Infographic by Carly Rubin
The United States and Cuba have had a strained relationship for decades. Despite this barrier, Pres. Barack Obama and Pres. Raúl Castro met on March 21 to discuss their future affairs. Infographic by Carly Rubin.