The United States severed political ties with Cuba in 1961 after imposing an embargo on the island nation just 90 miles south of Florida a year before. Tourism to Cuba for Americans has been banned since that time. Though Cuba is still under communist rule, the Cold War mentality that has defined the relationship between the two countries over the last 50 years at last seems to be thawing.
Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, chief of the US interests section in Cuba, will meet Cuba’s Interim Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina in Havana on Wednesday to deliver a letter from President Obama to Cuban President Raul Castro regarding the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Cuba said in a statement on Tuesday.
Since the late 1970s, Cuba and the United States have had a type of diplomatic mission in each other’s capitals called “interests,” which do not have the same status as full embassies.
“We will formally announce tomorrow that the United States and Cuba have reached an agreement to re-establish formal diplomatic relations and open embassies in each other’s capitals,” one senior US administration official said, as reported by CNN. “We expect President Obama and Secretary Kerry to address this publicly tomorrow morning.”
The White House later said Obama will speak about Cuba at 11 am Wednesday morning.
This comes as a major step in the Obama administration’s push for a full diplomatic thaw, which began with the US and Cuba announcing on December 17, 2014 that they would move to mend previously hostile relations. Since then, the United States has loosened travel restrictions and allowed some new economic ties.
Obama met with Raul Castro during a summit meeting in Panama in April, the first time that the leaders of their respective countries had met in more than 50 years.
In June, the US removed Cuba from its “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list, which was a major obstacle in way of the renewal of cordial relations.
The Obama administration has long supported engagement with the island country, and insists that the embargo has been ineffective.
US, Cuba to announce embassy openings after 50-year stalemate
01 July 2015
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US President Barack Obama will announce on Wednesday that the United States has reached an agreement with Cuba to reopen embassies in their respective capitals of Washington and Havana, according to American officials.
