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Cuba: President Obama’s Historic Visit
Barack Obama has made history, by becoming the first US president to set foot in Cuba in nearly a century.
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President Obama landed at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana late Sunday afternoon, accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama and First Daughters Malia and Sasha Obama. A contingency of roughly 1000 American dignitaries and guests also joined the first family on the trip, including congressional leaders responsible for helping to broker the December 2014 deal to normalize relations, business executives who are preparing to bring commerce to Cuba, as well as the entire Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
“¿Que bolá Cuba?,” Mr. Obama tweeted upon landing, which means “What’s Up” in Spanish. “Just touched down here, looking forward to meeting and hearing directly from the Cuban people,” he continued. For a moment, it was almost difficult to imagine that Cuba is a mere 90 miles south of Florida.
Immediately upon landing, the Obama’s were whisked off to the American Embassy for a meet and greet. “This is a historic visit,” the president said as he greeted US Embassy staff members and their families. “It’s an historic opportunity to engage with the Cuban people.” Indeed, it was a moment that ended decades of political strife between the 2 nations and cemented the diplomatic legacy of the Obama presidency.
On Sunday, the Obama Family toured Old Havana by foot, visiting the Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana and other spots of interest. Several hundred people gathered in the square and erupted in spontaneous applause while shouting Obama’s name as the first family stepped forward. The sight of a sitting American president setting foot on the island was a novelty for most Cubans. The last US leader to visit was Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
“It’s great. This is one of the big events of my life,” said Cuban resident Nora Tavares, a retired shop worker. “We never imagined this day would come. It fills me with hope of change.”
On Monday, a symbolic wall came down between the 2 nations when President Obama formally met with Cuban President Raúl Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Old Havana.
“We have decades of profound differences,” Mr. Obama told reporters when asked what his message on human rights was during his “frank conversation” on the issue with Castro. “I told President Castro that we are moving forward and not looking backwards.”
“We will continue to stand up for basic principles that we believe in,” Mr. Obama continued, while insisting that Castro answer the questions posed to him by American journalists. “America believes in democracy. We believe that freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, are not just American values but universal values.”
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The visit by President Obama and the opening of renewed relations is as much about changes in American politics as it is about the new Cuba.
“There is a lot of talk that the purpose of opening up the relationship is to bring about change in Cuba, I don’t think that’s the case,” said Kevin Casas-Zamora, a director of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank in Washington DC, and a former vice-president of Costa Rica. “Obama is doing this not for Cuba’s sake, but the US’s sake, because this had become an embarrassment for the US – a major obstacle in the relationship with Latin America.”
For the man who led an advance party to Havana this week and oversaw the secret talks in Canada that led up to this historic meeting, Pandora’s Box is now open and there’s no turning back.
“We want to make the process of normalization irreversible,” US national security adviser Ben Rhodes said.
Mr. Obama and his family are staying in a grand embassy mansion, which was first conceived as a possible winter White House for Franklin Roosevelt. Interestingly, it is more than half the size of the actual White House in Washington.
Following the meeting with Castro, the First Family attended a State Dinner at the Palace of the Revolution on Monday evening. This morning, Mr. Obama will address the Cuban people at El Gran Teatro de Havana, followed by a meeting with dissidents and civil society leaders.
Later today, Presidents Obama and Castro will enjoy a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuban National Team at Estadio Latinoamericano. The Obama’s will then depart Cuba en route to Buenos Aires.
US officials are already hopeful about the official visit, believing change in Cuba will be slow, but inevitable. The American delegation hopes to encourage, not negotiate, further reform.
That pic of Obamas plane flying in is everything. Those Cuban people never saw anything like that before.