{"id":51348,"date":"2014-12-22T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=51348"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:27:09","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:27:09","slug":"obama-and-raul-castro-thank-pope-for-breakthrough-in-us-cuba-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/12\/obama-and-raul-castro-thank-pope-for-breakthrough-in-us-cuba-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama and Ra\u00fal Castro Thank Pope for Breakthrough in US-Cuba Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Surprise breakthrough came after 45-minute phone call between President Obama and Ra\u00fal Castro finalised the release of US prisoner Alan Gross.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/live\/2014\/dec\/17\/alan-gross-cuba-prisoner-freed-obama\" ><strong>Live updates: Obama to announce sweeping changes to US-Cuba relations<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/dec\/17\/raul-castro-hails-cuba-us-relations\" >Ra\u00fal Castro hails improved US-Cuba relations but calls for embargo to be lifted<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/dec\/17\/improved-us-cuba-relations-average-american\" >What do improved US-Cuba relations mean for the average American?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Barack Obama and Ra\u00fal Castro have thanked Pope Francis for helping broker a historic deal to begin normalising relations between the United States and Cuba, after 18 months of secret talks over prisoner releases brought a sudden end to decades of cold war hostility.<\/p>\n<p>The two presidents spoke simultaneously on Wednesday to confirm the surprise reversal of a long-running US policy of isolating Cuba, detailing a series of White House steps that will relax travel, commercial and diplomatic restrictions in exchange for the release of Americans and dissidents held in Havana.<\/p>\n<p>Though a formal end to the US trade embargo requires legislation in Congress, both Obama and Castro said they believed such executive action was sufficient to significantly open up relations between the two countries and allow travellers and trade to flow relatively freely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the most significant changes in our policy in more than fifty years, we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalise relations between our two countries,\u201d said Obama<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ng-interactive\/2014\/dec\/17\/white-house-charting-new-course-cuba-relations\" > in an address from the White House cabinet room<\/a>. \u201cThrough these changes, we intend to create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people, and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>President Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel in 2008, was only slightly less expansive, calling on Congress to formally lift the embargo but saying he believed Obama could substantially \u201cmodify its use\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis decision of President Obama deserves the respect and acknowledgement of our people,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/dec\/17\/raul-castro-hails-cuba-us-relations\" >said Castro in an address on Cuban television<\/a>. \u201cThe progress attained in the interchange show it is possible to find solutions to many problems. As we have repeated we should learn the art of coexistence in a civilised manner with our differences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former defence minister welcomed the release of three Cuban intelligence agents held in the US and recalled a promise from Fidel that they would return. It was the only mention of his sibling, who retired in 2008 in poor health and remains largely out of the public eye.<\/p>\n<p>Gerardo Hern\u00e1ndez, Antonio Guerrero and Ram\u00f3n Laba\u00f1ino were among five Cubans jailed for spying on anti-Castro groups in Florida. In exchange for them, Havana released a Cuban man described by Obama as \u201cone of the most important intelligence agents that the United States has ever had in Cuba\u201d. The man, who was freed after nearly 20 years in prison, is said to have been responsible for revealing the \u201cMiami Five\u201d and other prominent Cuban agents. The Cuban government also released 53 political dissidents as part of the deal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_51349\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/cuban-five-5.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-51349\" class=\"size-full wp-image-51349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/cuban-five-5.jpeg\" alt=\"A man walks in front of a banner of the Cuban Five which says \u2018End the injustice\u2019. Photograph: Alejandro Ernesto\/EPA\" width=\"460\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/cuban-five-5.jpeg 460w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/cuban-five-5-300x180.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-51349\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks in front of a banner of the Cuban Five which says \u2018End the injustice\u2019. Photograph: Alejandro Ernesto\/EPA<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But the surprise breakthrough came principally after a phone call, said to last 45 minutes to an hour, between Obama and Castro <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/dec\/17\/cuba-frees-alan-gross-obama-officials\" >on Tuesday finalised the release of Alan Gross<\/a>, a US government aid contractor held for five years in Cuba, which accused him of being a spy.<\/p>\n<p>Gross, who the US insists was released on \u201chumanitarian grounds\u201d unrelated to the exchange of spies, was flown back to Washington on Wednesday accompanied by Senators Patrick Leahy and Jeff Flake and congressman Chris van Hollen.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/video\/2014\/dec\/17\/alan-gross-arrives-us-release-from-cuba-video\" >Speaking in Washington on his return to the US<\/a>, Gross said he hoped that the US and Cuba can now move beyond their \u201cmutually belligerent policies\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive and a half decades of history show us that such belligerence inhibits better judgement. Two wrongs never make a right. I truly hope we can get beyond these mutually belligerent policies and I was very happy to hear what the president had to say today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Gross said he had the utmost respect for the Cuban people and said he was pained \u201cto see them treated so unjustly\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn no way are they responsible for the ordeal to which my family and I have been subjected,\u201d Gross said, describing the vast majority of Cubans as \u201cincredibly kind, generous and talented\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But even as Gross was en route to the US, it became clear that a far larger negotiation had been underway since private talks began in Canada in June 2013.<\/p>\n<p>These were supported closely watched by Pope Francis, who personally wrote to both leaders and hosted a crucial secret summit at the Vatican this autumn, which they credited with helping clinch the deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis Holiness Pope Francis issued a personal appeal to me and to Cuba\u2019s president, Ra\u00fal Castro, urging us to resolve Alan\u2019s case and to address Cuba\u2019s interests in the release of three Cuban agents, who\u2019ve been jailed in the United States for over 15 years,\u201d said Obama.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, the deal brought immediate and fierce criticism from Congress, where many senior figures in both sides believe Obama has struck a poor deal, with few concrete commitments toward political reform from Havana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe White House has conceded everything and gained little in return,\u201d said Florida senator Marco Rubio. \u201cWe are getting no commitment on freedom of the speech, elections, no binding commitment on opening up the internet or even the semblance of a transition to democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis entire policy shift is based on a lie and illusion, that more access to money and goods will translate to more political freedom,\u201d added the Republican presidential hopeful.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic senator Bob Menendez, outgoing chair of the foreign relations committee, said: \u201cPresident Obama\u2019s actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A full end to the US trade embargo of Cuba would require legislation in Congress, something for which there has been virtually no appetite until now, but the White House hopes that by using a series of executive actions to minimise its enforcement, it can provide a breakthrough that will encourage political reform in Cuba and soften political opposition in the US.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not expecting transformation of Cuban society overnight,\u201d said Obama. \u201c[But] we can\u2019t keep doing the same thing for five decades and expect a different result.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe fully expect we will continue to have strong differences, particularly on democracy and human rights &#8230; [but] engagement is a better tool than isolation and nowhere is that more clear than Cuba,\u201d added a senior US administration official in a White House briefing call for reporters. \u201cBy opening up we will able to promote freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Castro, who has introduced economic reforms but retained tight political control, said Cubans had stayed loyal to the revolution and its social justice ideals despite numerous challenges and would continue to do so. \u201cWe carry forward, given the difficulties, with the actualisation of our economic model to build a prosperous and sustainable socialism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/dec\/17\/us-cuba-diplomatic-relations-obama-raul-castro?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2\" >Go to Original \u2013 theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barack Obama and Ra\u00fal Castro thanked Pope Francis for helping broker a deal to normalising relations between US and Cuba after 18 months of secret talks over prisoner releases brought a sudden end to decades of cold war hostility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}