Obama arrives in Havana for historic visit

Julie Pace and Michael Weissenstein, The Associated Press, Published Sunday, March 20, 2016 7:40AM EDT, Last Updated Sunday, March 20, 2016 4:42PM EDT, http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/ob...oric-visit-1.2824720

CTV News Channel: U.S. president arrives in Cuba

HAVANA -- Stepping into history, U.S. President Barack Obama has opened an extraordinary visit to Cuba on Sunday.

Obama's whirlwind trip is a crowning moment in his and Cuban President Raul Castro's ambitious effort to restore normal relations between their countries.

While deep differences persist, the economic and political relationship has changed rapidly in the 15 months since the leaders vowed a new beginning.

Air Force One touched down at Havana's airport late Sunday afternoon after a three-hour flight from Washington.

The president was joined by wife Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha on the flight, with dozens of U.S. lawmakers and business leaders arriving separately for the visit.

The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's revolution sparked fears of communism spreading to the Western Hemisphere. Domestic politics in both countries contributed to the continued estrangement well after the Cold War ended.

The last visit to Cuba by a U.S. president came in 1928, when Calvin Coolidge arrived on the island in a battleship.

"This is an incredible thing," said Carlos Maza, a 48-year-old refrigerator repairman from Havana. He called it "a big step forward."

Obama's visit was highly anticipated in Cuba, where workers furiously cleaned up the streets in Old Havana and gave buildings a fresh coat of paint. American flags were raised alongside the Cuban colours in parts of the capital, an improbable image for those who have lived through a half-century of bitterness between the two countries.

Many Cubans were staying home in order to avoid extensive closures of main boulevards. By early afternoon the Cuban government didn't appear to be calling out crowds of supporters to welcome Obama, as it has with other visiting dignitaries. The city's seaside Malecon promenade was largely deserted Sunday morning except for a few cars, joggers, fishermen and pelicans.

The president's schedule in Cuba is jam-packed, including official meetings with Raul Castro and an event with U.S. and Cuban entrepreneurs. But much of Obama's visit was about appealing directly to the Cuban people and celebrating the island's vibrant culture.

"I don't think that the Cuban people are going to be bewitched by North American culture," Gustavo Machin, Cuba's deputy director of U.S. affairs, told The Associated Press. "We don't fear ties with the United States."

Shortly after arriving, Obama planned to greet staff at the new U.S. Embassy in Havana, which was opened amid great fanfare last year. He was then joining his family on a walking tour of Old Havana, including the Havana Cathedral.

Obama was to be greeted there by Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who helped facilitate months of secret talks between U.S. and Cuban officials that led to the normalization of diplomatic relations in December 2014.

A highlight of Obama's visit comes Tuesday when he joins Castro and a crowd of baseball-crazed Cubans for a game between the beloved national team and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. The president also planned a speech at the Grand Theater of Havana laying out his vision for greater freedoms and more economic opportunity in Cuba.

Two years after taking power in 2008, Castro launched economic and social reforms that appear slow-moving to many Cubans and foreigners, but are lasting and widespread within Cuban society. The changes have allowed hundreds of thousands of people to work in the private sector and have relaxed limits on cellphones, Internet and Cubans' comfort with discussing their country's problems in public, for example.

The Cuban government has been unyielding, however, on making changes to its single-party political system and to the strict limits on media, public speech, assembly and dissent.

Obama will spend some time talking with Cuban dissidents. The White House said such a meeting was a prerequisite for the visit. But there were no expectations that he would leave Cuba with significant pledges from the government to address Washington's human rights concerns.

Hours before Obama's arrival, counter-protesters and police broke up an anti-government demonstration by the Ladies in White group, with government backers shouting insults and revolutionary slogans. The women were taken into custody by female police officers and loaded onto buses. They're typically detained briefly and then released, a scene that plays out in Havana each Sunday.

A major focus for Obama was pushing his Cuba policy to the point it will be all but impossible for the next president to reverse it.

That includes highlighting new business deals by American companies, including Starwood, which finalized an agreement Saturday to renovate and run three hotels on the island. The Obama administration also gave San Francisco-based online lodging service Airbnb a special license allowing travellers from around the world to book stays in private homes in Cuba.

U.S. President Barack Obama and the First lady Michelle Obama are seen descending the stairs of Air Force One after arriving in Havana, Cuba. (CTV)

Two Cubans smile widely as they take part in a weekly rumba dance gathering in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, March 19, 2016. (AP / Desmond Boylan)

That will be president Trump to visit Cuba in 2017. He will put smiles on everyone's face. 

St Obama!!

God bless Obama and God bless America.

History in the making, it  is raining this afternoon in Cuba but it is a ray of sunshine for the Cuban people.

They are screaming St Obama.

Once again, Obama has proven how he transcends normal expectations. His inclusive and forgiving attitude is what separates him from the ordinary US Presidents. No doubt Baseman will parrot his Republican positions but I am sure those Republicans are envious that they don't have the courage to make bold steps like Obama does. Well done President Obama. Hopefully the Cuban leaders now learn how to be a great leaders.

Cobra posted:

That will be president Trump to visit Cuba in 2017. He will put smiles on everyone's face. 

Perhaps, Trump may visit Cuba as president of his conglomerate, but unfortunately for him, it will be Hillary Clinton, as President of the US_of_A after the November elections; who could make the visit to Cuba.

What a President he is! Noting his achievements given the state of the country when he took the reins, his personality, his style, can't help but just LOVE him. 

Hillary will carry the torch well in her own inimitable style.

When the history books have been written, this will be recorded as Obama's legacy to the world.  He has corrected a wrong done to the Cuban people.  The US economic embargo has created widespread poverty to a country with very resourceful people who suffered needlessly because of a war of ideologies.   Good leaders change the world.  Hillary cannot walk in this man's shoes.  She has spent many more years than he has in government and still has done nothing for her constituents.  Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand fight harder for the people of New York than she has and they have accomplished more.

Bibi Haniffa posted:

When the history books have been written, this will be recorded as Obama's legacy to the world.  He has corrected a wrong done to the Cuban people.  The US economic embargo has created widespread poverty to a country with very recourceful people who suffered needlessly because of a war of ideologies.   Good leaders change the world.  Hillary cannot walk in this man's shoes.  She has spent many more years than he has in government and still has done nothing for her constituents.  Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand fight harder for the people of New York than she has and they have accomplished more.

Castro like Cheddi and Burnham chose a side. It happened to be the contrary side to what constitute the western political ethos.  Any suffering to the people is a consequence of that. Nations that did not fared better. The US as a patron was far superior than the USSR.

Obama is a good president. He could have been a great president if he was a little less aloof and a bit more of a schmoozer he would have been a great president.

Hillary clearly has that skill. Consequently she will be able to improve upon his work and traverse new territory as well.

Stormborn posted:

Castro like Cheddi and Burnham chose a side.

A losing side!

Unfortunatly the leaders like Cheddi, Burnham and Castro did not suffer, it is the people and the country that did.

Thank God for America and Canada , Guyanese were able to legally migrate. 

Bibi Haniffa posted:

When the history books have been written, this will be recorded as Obama's legacy to the world.  He has corrected a wrong done to the Cuban people.  The US economic embargo has created widespread poverty to a country with very resourceful people who suffered needlessly because of a war of ideologies.   Good leaders change the world.  Hillary cannot walk in this man's shoes.  She has spent many more years than he has in government and still has done nothing for her constituents.  Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand fight harder for the people of New York than she has and they have accomplished more.

I have to agree.

Kudos to President Obama for correcting a wrong done to the Cuban people.

I tip my hat off to President Obama. My Lord Krsna forever bless President Obama, Michelle and their two beautiful children.

Stormborn posted:

Bibi Haniffa posted:

When the history books have been written, this will be recorded as Obama's legacy to the world.  He has corrected a wrong done to the Cuban people.  The US economic embargo has created widespread poverty to a country with very recourceful people who suffered needlessly because of a war of ideologies.   Good leaders change the world.  Hillary cannot walk in this man's shoes.  She has spent many more years than he has in government and still has done nothing for her constituents.  Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand fight harder for the people of New York than she has and they have accomplished more.

Castro like Cheddi and Burnham chose a side. It happened to be the contrary side to what constitute the western political ethos.  Any suffering to the people is a consequence of that. Nations that did not fared better. The US as a patron was far superior than the USSR.

Obama is a good president. He could have been a great president if he was a little less aloof and a bit more of a schmoozer he would have been a great president.

Hillary clearly has that skill. Consequently she will be able to improve upon his work and traverse new territory as well.

I agree. Obama takes balanced steps. He did not need to engage the  entire military to kill America's enemy #1 like Bush did. Yet he got him while Bush searched haplessly for him for his entire two terms.

yuji22 posted:

. . . Kudos to President Obama for correcting a wrong done to the Cuban people.

I tip my hat off to President Obama. My Lord Krsna forever bless President Obama, Michelle and their two beautiful children.

i get a kick watching this primitive little gold teeth racist trying to act like people . . . attempting to conceal his disease

redux posted:

yuji22 posted:

. . . Kudos to President Obama for correcting a wrong done to the Cuban people.

I tip my hat off to President Obama. My Lord Krsna forever bless President Obama, Michelle and their two beautiful children.

i get a kick watching this primitive little gold teeth racist trying to act like people . . . attempting to conceal his disease

ksazma posted:

Once again, Obama has proven how he transcends normal expectations. His inclusive and forgiving attitude is what separates him from the ordinary US Presidents. No doubt Baseman will parrot his Republican positions but I am sure those Republicans are envious that they don't have the courage to make bold steps like Obama does. Well done President Obama. Hopefully the Cuban leaders now learn how to be a great leaders.

Bai, why you drag baseman in here.  I always said this [and Iran] was good, the few good that came out of this administration.  However, the embargo remains fully intact so the benefits to Cuba will be very muted.

Anyway, I think is was good to start this process!!

Kudos to Obama for this!  Now ksazma, I don't think that's a Republican sentiment!!

And now the US and Cuba are business partners.  Even before Obama set foot on the land.

HAVANA (AP) — Starwood signed a deal on Saturday to renovate and run three Cuban hotels, returning U.S. chains to the island more than 50 years after American hotels were taken over by Fidel Castro's socialist revolution.

All Cuban hotels are state-owned so the deal puts a major U.S. corporation directly in business with the Communist government under a special U.S. license that pushes Washington's legal dismantling of the Cuban trade embargo further than ever before. In a once-unimaginable arrangement, a hotel owned by the tourism arm of the Cuban military will become a Sheraton Four Pointsn over by Fidel Castro's socialist revolution.

Obama, Castro shake hands in first historic meeting in Cuba

For Obama, there’s no better place than Havana to show that engagement can do more than isolation. For Cubans, the challenge is if their own government can show that diplomacy is more than just talk.

JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS

U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro shake hands during their first meeting in Havana Monday.

Enric Martí

U.S. President Barack Obama takes a moment after laying a wreath at the Jose Marti monument in Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, Monday.

Demerara_Guy posted:

Cobra posted:

That will be president Trump to visit Cuba in 2017. He will put smiles on everyone's face. 

Perhaps, Trump may visit Cuba as president of his conglomerate, but unfortunately for him, it will be Hillary Clinton, as President of the US_of_A after the November elections; who could make the visit to Cuba.

Trump has already licensed his name on some US hotels in Cuba. Trump is mainly a reality TV show host who qualifies for MIDDLE CLASS tax credits in NYC.

U.S. too slow to speak out on human rights in Argentina's 'Dirty War': Obama

By Hugh Bronstein and Jeff Mason, Thu Mar 24, 2016 11:17am EDT, http://ca.reuters.com/article/...dCAKCN0WQ0I9?sp=true

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Argentina"s President Mauricio Macri after a speech during a visit at the the Parque de la Memoria (Remembrance Park), where they honored victims of Argentina"s Dirty War on the 40th anniversary of the 1976 coup that initiated that period of military rule, in Buenos Aires, March 24, 2016.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said the United States was too slow to condemn human rights violations during Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship as he honored victims of the "Dirty War" on Thursday, but he stopped short of apologizing for Washington's early support of the military junta.

Obama's state visit to Argentina coincided with the 40th anniversary of the coup that began a seven-year crackdown on Marxist rebels, labor unions and leftist opponents, during which security forces killed 30,000 people.

"There has been controversy about the policies of the United States early in those dark days," Obama said while visiting a memorial park in Buenos Aires dedicated to victims of the dictatorship.

"Democracies have to have the courage to acknowledge when we don't live up to the ideals that we stand for. And we've been slow to speak out for human rights and that was the case here," he said.

At the memorial, which sits on the banks of the La Plata River, he and Argentine President Mauricio Macri dropped white roses into the water in an act of commemoration.

Survivors of the crackdown say one of the military rulers' tactics was the use of so-called "death flights", where political opponents were tossed into aircraft, stripped naked and then thrown alive into the river and the Atlantic Ocean to drown.

Obama has promised to declassify U.S. military and intelligence records related to the dictatorship-era, a time when Cold War thinking often put Washington behind right-wing governments in Latin America.

But the U.S. leader was criticized by some rights activists. One group of victims' relatives labeled the timing of his visit a provocation.

"We will not allow the power that orchestrated dictatorships in Latin America and oppresses people across the world to cleanse itself and use the memory of our 30,000 murdered compatriots to strengthen its imperialist agenda," the Buenos Aires-based Center for Human Rights Advocates said in a statement.

Some Argentines welcomed Obama's gestures. "Obama is not going to say outright 'forgive us', but he's saying it through his actions," said Daniel Slutzky, a 75-year-old college professor.

Obama said on Wednesday it was "gratifying to see Argentina champion our shared commitment to human rights." Yet Macri's opponents balk at the suggestion the socially conservative leader is a rights defender.

Obama's visit to Argentina is a show of support for Macri's sharp turn away from the nationalist policies of his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez, who frequently railed against the United States and Wall Street.

The U.S. president flew to Argentina from Cuba, where he challenged President Raul Castro on human rights and political freedoms even as the two men cast aside decades of hostility that began soon after Cuba's 1959 revolution.

Obama has been traveling with his family and later on Thursday they were to switch briefly into vacation mode, traveling to the lakeside town of Bariloche in Patagonia for the afternoon before returning to Washington.

(Writing by Richard Lough and Hugh Bronstein; Editing by W Simon and Frances Kerry)