Thursday, December 18, 2014

Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana

During his historic announcement on Wednesday, President Obama said a transformation of relations with Cuba would bring opportunities for both countries. (AP)


By Karen DeYoung and Brian Murphy
December 17 at 1:37 PM
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President Obama announced sweeping changes to U.S. policy with Cuba on Wednesday, moving to normalize relations with the island nation and tear down the last remaining pillar of the Cold War.
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Under the new measures, the United States plans to reopen its embassy in Havana and significantly ease restrictions on travel and commerce within the next several weeks and months, Obama said. Speaking from the White House, he declared that a half-century of isolation of the Communist country "has not worked."
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"It's time for a new approach," he said.
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The history-shaping overtures come after more than 18 months of secret negotiations with the Cuban government of President Raul Castro. The final touches appeared to be arrangements for a series of simultaneous prisoner releases.
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Cuba agreed to release Alan Gross, a U.S. Agency for International Development contractor imprisoned for five years, and an unnamed U.S. intelligence asset held for two decades. In exchange, U.S. officials released three Cuban nationals convicted of spying in 2001.
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Although Obama has the power to establish diplomatic relations, the move was the latest in a series of steps he has taken to use executive powers to circumvent legislative opposition - and one that drew a sharp reaction from GOP lawmakers.
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In a hard-edged appraisal of U.S. policies, Obama also noted that decades of embargoes and isolation against Cuba failed to topple its communist system and at times spilled back against U.S. interests in the region.
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"We do not believe we can keep doing the same thing over five decades and expect a different result," he said.
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Earlier, a White House statement said the U.S. stance against Cuba alienated Washington from "regional and international partners."
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As Obama spoke, Castro addressed the Cuban people with promises of a new chapter in relations with Washington, but also noting that there are hard issues to work through.

Cuba released American Alan Gross as part of a prisoner swap that could herald broader discussions on strengthening ties and perhaps ending the decades-long U.S. economic embargo against its long-time communist foe. (AP)

The U.S. embargo "continues to create economic damage to our country. It must stop," Castro said.

"We recognize we have profound differences, especially in the areas of national sovereignty, democracy, human rights and foreign relations," he said.

But he added the countries have to learn to live with their differences "in a civilized manner."

Across Havana, church bells rang as he spoke.
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