Obama on Change to U.S.-Cuba Relations | The New York Times
The president outlined the steps the United States would take to end an outdated approach and begin to normalize relations with Cuba. Produced by: AP Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1wZ...
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Obama on Change to U.S.-Cuba Relations | The New York Times - Video
Limbaugh Reacts to Obama #39;s Cuba Normalization
Rush Limbaugh (12/17/14): "I know Jay-Z went there, second honeymoon or anniversary or some such thing. Yeah, Jay-Z had a good time there." Limbaugh Reacts to Obama #39;s Cuba Normalization ...
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Limbaugh Reacts to Obama's Cuba Normalization - Video
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- A political standoff that spanned five decades and 10 presidents began to crumble Wednesday with President Barack Obama's move to normalize relations with Cuba.
The announcement was the product of a year of clandestine back-channelling between the U.S. and Cuba, facilitated by the Canadians and the Vatican and with personal involvement from the Pope.
"Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past, so as to reach for a better future for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our entire hemisphere and for the world," Obama said in a statement announcing his decision.
He added: "It's time for a new approach."
Obama said he's instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to immediately begin discussions with Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations, and that the U.S. will re-open an embassy in Havana. The administration will also allow some travel and trade that had been banned under a decades-long embargo instated during the Kennedy administration.
"Neither the American nor Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that's rooted in events that took place before most of us were born," Obama said.
READ: Obama announces historic overhaul of relations
Obama's move risks triggering another fight with Congress, which will come under the full control of Republicans in January.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he would do everything in his power to block any potential U.S. ambassador to Cuba even receive a vote.
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Obama: 'New approach'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- A political standoff that spanned five decades and 10 presidents began to crumble Wednesday with President Barack Obama's move to normalize relations with Cuba.
The announcement was the product of a year of clandestine back-channelling between the U.S. and Cuba, facilitated by the Canadians and the Vatican and with personal involvement from the Pope.
"Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past, so as to reach for a better future for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our entire hemisphere and for the world," Obama said in a statement announcing his decision.
He added: "It's time for a new approach."
Obama said he's instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to immediately begin discussions with Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations, and that the U.S. will re-open an embassy in Havana. The administration will also allow some travel and trade that had been banned under a decades-long embargo instated during the Kennedy administration.
"Neither the American nor Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that's rooted in events that took place before most of us were born," Obama said.
READ: Obama announces historic overhaul of relations
Obama's move risks triggering another fight with Congress, which will come under the full control of Republicans in January.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he would do everything in his power to block any potential U.S. ambassador to Cuba even receive a vote.
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Obama: Isolation didn't work
President Barack Obama said the U.S. will end more than half a century of isolation of Cuba, initiating talks to resume diplomatic relations, opening a U.S. embassy in Havana and loosening trade and travel restrictions on the nation.
The steps effectively end one of the last remnants of the Cold War, one that has been sacrosanct in U.S. domestic politics. They come as Cuba has sought a shift to gain economic support as its longtime patrons, Russia and Venezuela, have lost influence and been squeezed by plummeting oil prices.
The changes follow a rare private intercession by Pope Francis, the Catholic Churchs first Latin-American pontiff, secret meetings between Cuban and American delegations at the Vatican and in Canada, and an extraordinary telephone conversation lasting more than 45 minutes yesterday between Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro.
Neither the American nor Cuban people are well served by a rigid policy thats rooted in events that took place before most of us were born, Obama said today at the White House in a statement that coincided with remarks by Castro in Havana.
The White House announced the steps after Cuba released American Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds. Following high-level talks between the governments since the spring, the U.S. and Cuba also made a parallel prisoner exchange of three Cuban intelligence agents for a U.S. intelligence asset who has been imprisoned for more than 20 years, according to administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity before Obama speaks.
Prisoners Released
Cuba also agreed to release 53 people the U.S. considers political prisoners, some of whom have already been released, the officials said.
The White House plans to move swiftly. The administration expects to issue regulations within weeks and open an embassy as soon as is logistically possible, according to White House officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity before Obama spoke. Obama said he will work with Congress to lift the full trade embargo.
Travelers will be able to use credit and debit cards in Cuba and Americans will be able to legally bring home up to $100 in previously illegal Cuban cigars treasured by aficionados.
U.S. companies will be permitted to export to Cuba telecommunications equipment, agricultural commodities, construction supplies and materials for small businesses. U.S. financial institutions will be allowed to open accounts with Cuban banks.
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Obama to Announce Easing in U.S.-Cuba Trade, Travel Relations