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Former Member

U.S. and Cuba seek to normalize relations in historic shift

U.S. President Barack Obama says 'isolation does not work'

The Associated Press Posted: Dec 17, 2014 9:45 AM ET, Last Updated: Dec 17, 2014 12:23 PM ET, Source - CBC.ca

 

U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro are expected to make statements on Wednesday about normalizing their diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro are expected to make statements on Wednesday about normalizing their diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades. (Reuters)

 

U.S. President Barack Obama says that the "rigid" policy the U.S. has had toward Cuba over the past decades has had little effect. 

 

In a speech delivered at the White House on Wednesday, Obama outlined some steps his administration will be taking to normalize full diplomatic relations with Cuba, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades.

 

"These 50 years have shown that isolation does not work,” he said, referring to the sanctions and travel bans the U.S. imposed on Cuba.

 

The announcement comes amid a series of new confidence-building measures between the longtime foes, including the release of American Alan Gross and the freeing of three Cubans jailed in the U.S.

 

Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican and possible 2016 presidential contender, said the U.S. and Cuba were moving toward normalized banking and trade ties. He also said the U.S. was poised to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months.

 

"This is going to do absolutely nothing to further human rights and democracy in Cuba," Rubio said in an interview. "But it potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."

 

Gross, 65, was on an American government plane bound for the U.S. Wednesday morning after being released on humanitarian grounds by the Cuban government at the request of the Obama administration. As part of the secret negotiations to secure his release, the U.S. was releasing three Cuban jailed in Florida for spying.

 

Cuba President Raul Castro planned to speak at noon about Gross's release, according to Cuba's UN mission.

 

Obama administration officials have considered Gross's imprisonment an impediment to improving relations with Cuba.

 

Cuba was also releasing a non-American intelligence "asset" along with Gross, according to a U.S. official. That official and others spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be identified by name before Obama's remarks.

USAID contractor Gross freed after 5 years

Gross was detained in December 2009 while working to set up internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. government's U.S. Agency for International Development, which does work promoting democracy in the communist country. It was his fifth trip to Cuba to work with Jewish communities on setting up internet access that bypassed local censorship.

 

Cuba considers USAID's programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine its government, and Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison. 

 

Gross Released

American aid worker Alan Gross, pictured in 2012, has been released from Cuba after five years in prison, amid reports of a prisoner exchange between the countries that heralds a major overhaul of U.S. policy toward Cuba. (James L. Berenthal/Associated Press)

 

The three Cubans released in exchange for Gross are part of the so-called Cuban Five — a group of men who were part of the "Wasp Network" sent by Cuba's then president Fidel Castro to spy in South Florida. The men, who are hailed as heroes in Cuba, were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges including conspiracy and failure to register as foreign agents in the U.S.

 

Two of the Cuban Five were previously released after finishing their sentences.

 

In a statement marking the fifth anniversary of Gross's detention earlier this month, Obama hinted that his release could lead to a thaw in relations with Cuba.

 

"The Cuban government's release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba," Obama said in a statement.

 

Gross's wife, Judy, said in a statement earlier this month that he has lost more than 46 kilograms, can barely walk due to chronic pain, and has lost five teeth and much of the sight in his right eye. He has begun refusing to see his wife and daughter, the new chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana and members of Cuba's small Jewish community, who had been visiting him on religious holidays.

Canada hosted majority of U.S., Cuba meetings 

Obama has taken some steps to ease U.S. restrictions on Cuba after Raul Castro took over as president in 2010 from his ailing brother. He has sought to ease travel and financial restrictions on Americans with family in Cuba, but has resisted calls to drop the embargo. 

 

South Africa Mandela Memorial

In this image from TV, U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro in Soweto, South Africa, for a memorial service for former South African president Nelson Mandela on Dec. 10, 2013. The handshake between the leaders of the two Cold War enemies came during a ceremony that focused on Mandela's legacy of reconciliation. (Associated Press)

 

Among the expected changes as a result of the improvement in U.S.-Cuba relations is that licensed American travellers to Cuba will now be able to return to the U.S. with $400 in Cuban goods, including tobacco and alcohol products worth less than $100 combined. This means the long-standing ban on importing Cuban cigars is over, although there are still limits, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official White House announcement.

 

Canada hosted the majority of the meetings between the U.S. and Cuba that led to the start of normalizing full diplomatic relations, officials said on Wednesday.

In a conference call, high-ranking officials said there were multiple meetings with Cuban officials in third countries. Canada hosted the majority of these meetings, the officials said anonymously on background.

 

Canada did not participate in the substance of the discussions, but played an indispensable role in facilitating and hosting the talks, the officials said.

 

There were no meetings in Cuba or the United States.

 

The surprise prisoner swap has echoes of the deal the U.S. cut earlier this year to secure the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by the Taliban. In exchange for his release in May, the U.S. turned over five Taliban prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

 

With files from CBC News

 

Source - http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...oric-shift-1.2876088

Replies sorted oldest to newest

The isolation of Cuba is not working. The U.S. need to uplift Cuba's embargo and normalize relation with the Cuban government. Cuba has been an asset to South and Central America for five decades now.         

 

Tell the U.S. not to send message to Guyana to tell Cuba anything in the future. That's lil pickny story. 

FM
Last edited by Former Member

A timeline of Cuba-U.S. relations

Ashley Csanady, Canada.com  12.16.2014, Source - Montreal Gazette

 

People from the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) hold signs urging the U.S. to "End the blockade of Cuba," during a demonstration outside of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, as President Barack Obama announced a change in U.S. policy with Cuba.

 

U.S. President Barack Obama made history Wednesday with the announcement America will resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.

The historic pledge, also announced by Cuban President Raul Castro, will see embassies reopen on each side and the end to decades of economic embargoes and a complete freeze on diplomatic relations.

Here’s a quick look back at the frosty history between the two countries:

 

January 1, 1959

The Cuban Revolution chills relations with the U.S. after Fidel Castro wrests control from President Fulgencio Batista, an American-backed autocrat. Castro turns Cuba into a Communist country from a playground for American capitalists. Tensions with the U.S. grow as the Cold War deepens and the Soviet Union becomes a Cuban ally.

 

April 17, 1961

The Bay of Pigs Invasion was disastrous for both U.S.-Cuba relations and to the early days of President John F. Kennedy’s presidency.  The failed attempt to overthrow Castro was just the first of decades of American coup and assassination attempts on Castro.

 

February 7, 1962

President Kennedy imposts a complete economic embargo on Cuba, which its government estimates cost the nation economy over $1 trillion (U.S.) over the next fifty years.

 

October 1962

The Cuban Missile crisis freezes what’s left of U.S.-Cuban good will and sees North Americans building basement bombshells. It all started with the U.S. discovery of Soviet missiles on the island. Kennedy imposed a naval blockade and the standoff lasted almost two weeks before both the Americans and the Soviets agree to roll back some of their nuclear bases around the world to prevent nuclear war.

 

In 1962, the U.S. extended its Cuban embargo to include almost all imports.

 

1966

U.S. Congress passes a law that allows anyone who flees Cuba to pursue American citizenship after a year.

 

1976

Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau becomes the first Western leader to visit Cuba since the Americans imposed their embargo. His three-day visit sparks a lifelong friendship with Castro, who later served as a pallbearer at Trudeau’s funeral.

 

1980

Castro temporarily lifts travel restrictions and over 100,000 Cubans flee to America.

 

1993 

Cuba legalizes the U.S. dollar as America tightens its economic embargo

 

1996

The U.S. passes another law to strengthen its embargo and hinder Cuba from seeking other economic backers

 

1998

The “Cuban Five” are arrested in the U.S. The American allege they were spies and their arrest remains a flash point for almost three decades.

The three remaining captives will be returned to Cuba as part of Wednesday’s deal.

 

1999

Six-year-old EliÃĄn GozÃĄlez is rescued from the oceans between Cuba and the U.S. A months-long legal and public relations battle erupts before U.S. soldiers take GonzÃĄlez from his American relatives at gun point and send him back to Cuba.

 

2000 

Venezuela strikes a deal with Cuba to exchange oil for medical, education and scientific expertise and supplies. This relationship deepens over the coming decade.

 

2002

The U.S. opens its Guantanamo Bay detention centre on the island.

 

2003

President George W. Bush increases travel and economic embargoes and sanctions in a bid to end Cuba’s communist rule.

 

2006 

A bipartisan group of Congressmen and Senators visit Cuba as part of the largest U.S. diplomatic designation in decades.

 

2008 

Fidel Castro’s health deteriorates and his brother Raul Castro takes over.

 

2009

President Barack Obama lifts travel restrictions on Cuba and allows Cuban-American to send money back to the island. Obama also allows religious and education travel.

 

2012

Cuba starts hinting it’s ready to thaw frozen relations with the Americans and lifts its exit visa restrictions.

 

December 17, 2014

Obama announces the resumption of diplomatic relations with Cuba after fifty years of hostility. Castro makes the same announcement in Cuba. Both sides agree to release prisoners and begin talks to end travel and trade restrictions. Embassies will be re-opened in Washington and Havana.

 

Source - http://www.montrealgazette.com.../10660431/story.html

FM
Originally Posted by Cobra:

U.S. President Barack Obama made history Wednesday with the announcement America will resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.

 

Obama needs to amend relation with Russia also.

 

 

we need to tighten sanctions on Russia. President Obama in a great move yesterday laid some more sanctions on Russia's backside.

 

Russia needs to stop invading sovereign countries like the Ukraine and they also need to withdraw from Crimea.

FM
Originally Posted by Demerara_Guy:
Originally Posted by Cobra:

U.S. President Barack Obama made history Wednesday with the announcement America will resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.

 

Obama needs to amend relation with Russia also.

Russia ... the still engrained USSR ... must amend relations with the US_of_A and most of the world.

Apparently, Putin don't want to let go of the USSR and join the free world. Why Obama can't shook Putin hand and say let's bygones be bygones? Obama is known to believe in diplomacy over war. Isn't it?

FM
Originally Posted by Cobra:
Originally Posted by Demerara_Guy:
Originally Posted by Cobra:

U.S. President Barack Obama made history Wednesday with the announcement America will resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.

 

Obama needs to amend relation with Russia also.

Russia ... the still engrained USSR ... must amend relations with the US_of_A and most of the world.

Apparently, Putin don't want to let go of the USSR and join the free world. Why Obama can't shook Putin hand and say let's bygones be bygones? Obama is known to believe in diplomacy over war. Isn't it?

When the USSR/Russia amends it role and genuinely proceed with a free and democratic world approach then there will be reciprocal initiatives by the other countries.

 

Putin was the leader/chief/"head honcho" of the spy agency for years in the USSR and his role with that organization dates from about the 1970's.

FM
Originally Posted by HM_Redux:
Originally Posted by Cobra:

U.S. President Barack Obama made history Wednesday with the announcement America will resume diplomatic relations with Cuba.

 

Obama needs to amend relation with Russia also.

 

 

we need to tighten sanctions on Russia. President Obama in a great move yesterday laid some more sanctions on Russia's backside.

 

Russia needs to stop invading sovereign countries like the Ukraine and they also need to withdraw from Crimea.

 russia will not withdraw from the Crimea. It need to back track from South Ossetta and let   Chechnya go. It gains nothing by antagonism and wasteful land grab. I can see it keeping the Crimea since there are not enough Tar Tars left to seek independence.

 

Russia suffers because its leaders failed to incubate local manufacturing and industry. Its over reliance on oil is its Achilles heel. Putin is its disease. With him gone it can quickly reintegrate with the west because Russians are historically a western people.

FM

Sad to say this.  But this is really an agreement between Obama (a President with a few years left in power) and the Cuban government of Raul Castro.  The embargo is still tied up in American legislation.  With the Republican controlled House and Senate no embargo is ending while the Castro brothers are still in power.  The Republican exile Cuban vote is too strong for the Republican party to ignore.

 

This is just a PR stunt from Obama to regain some support from the African American community before he leaves office.

FM

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