Bloomberg Businessweek.jpg
Obama: US re-establishing relations with Cuba
Julie Pace and Matthew Lee, AP, Bloomberg Businessweek, Washington, 17
December 2014
President Barack Obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic
relations and an easing in economic and travel restrictions on Cuba
Wednesday, declaring an end to America's "outdated approach" to the
communist island in a historic shift aimed at ending a half-century of Cold
War enmity.
"Isolation has not worked," Obama said in remarks from the White House.
"It's time for a new approach."
As Obama spoke, Cuban President Raul Castro addressed his own nation from
Havana. He said that while profound differences remain between the two
nations in such areas as human rights and foreign policy, they must learn to
live with those differences "in a civilized manner."
Obama's action marked an abrupt use of U.S. executive authority. However, he
cannot unilaterally end the longstanding U.S. economic embargo on Cuba,
which was passed by Congress and would require action from lawmakers to
overturn.
Wednesday's announcements followed more than a year of secret talks between
the U.S. and Cuba, including clandestine meetings in Canada and the Vatican
and personal involvement from Pope Francis. The re-establishment of
diplomatic ties was accompanied by Cuba's release of American Alan Gross and
the swap of a U.S. spy held in Cuba for three Cubans jailed in Florida.
In a statement, the Vatican said Pope Francis "wishes to express his warm
congratulations for the historic decision taken by the governments of the
United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic relations, with
the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries,
the difficulties which have marked their recent history."
Obama said Gross' five-year imprisonment had been a major obstacle in
normalizing relations. Gross arrived at an American military base just
outside Washington Wednesday morning, accompanied by his wife and a handful
of U.S. lawmakers. He went immediately into a meeting with Secretary of
State John Kerry.
As part of resuming diplomatic relations with Cuba, the U.S. will soon
reopen an embassy in the capital of Havana and carry out high-level
exchanges and visits between the governments. The U.S. is also easing travel
bans to Cuba, including for family visits, official U.S. government business
and educational activities. Tourist travel remains banned.
Licensed American travelers 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.
The U.S. is also increasing the amount of money Americans can send to Cubans
from $500 to $2,000 every three months. Early in his presidency, Obama
allowed unlimited family visits by Cuban-Americans and removed a $1,200
annual cap on remittances. Kerry is also launching a review of Cuba's
designation as a state sponsor of terror.
Obama said he continued to have serious concerns about Cuba's human rights
record but did not believe the current American policy toward the island was
advancing efforts to change the government's behavior.
"I do not believe we can keep doing the same thing for over five decades and
expect a different result," he said.
There remains a divide on Capitol Hill over U.S. policy toward Cuba. While
some lawmakers say the embargo is outdated, others say it's necessary as
long as Cuba refuses to reform its political system and improve its human
rights record.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the new U.S. policy would do nothing to
address those issues.
"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," Rubio said.
U.S. officials said Cuba was taking some steps as part of the agreement to
address its human rights issues, including freeing 53 political prisoners.
Cuba also released a non-American U.S. intelligence 'asset' along with
Gross. Officials said the spy had been held for nearly 20 years and was
responsible for some of the most important counterintelligence prosecutions
that the United States has pursed in recent decades. That includes convicted
Cuban spies Ana Belen Montes, Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Myers and a
group known as the Cuban Five.
The three Cubans released in exchange for the spy are part of the 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.
From:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-12-17/ap-sources-us-cuba-seek-to-normali
ze-relations
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