The US and Cuba have agreed to open embassies in each other’s capitals, the biggest tangible step in the countries’ bid to restore ties after more than a half-century of hostilities.
US President Barack Obama was expected to announce the accord yesterday at the White House. The US embassy in Havana is scheduled to open later this month.
The US and Cuba have been negotiating the re-establishment of embassies following a surprise announcement in December last year that secret talks had led to an agreement to restart diplomatic ties.
For Obama, ending the US freeze with Cuba is central to his foreign policy legacy as he nears the end of his presidency. Obama has long touted the value of direct engagement with global foes and has argued that the US embargo on the communist island just 145km south of Florida was ineffective.
A senior Obama administration official confirmed the embassy planning. The official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter ahead of the president.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Vienna for nuclear negotiations with Iran, is also expected to speak about the embassy openings. Kerry has said previously that he would travel to Cuba for an embassy opening.
The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday evening that it was to meet with Jeffrey DeLaurentis, chief of mission at the US Interests Section in Havana, yesterday morning to receive a message from Obama about reopening embassies.
Washington cut off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961 after former Cuban president Fidel Castro’s revolution. Since the late 1970s, the US and Cuba have operated diplomatic missions called interests sections in each other’s capitals. The missions are technically under the protection of Switzerland and do not enjoy the same status as embassies.
While the opening of embassies marks a major milestone in the thaw between the US and Cuba, significant issues remain as the countries look to normalize relations. These include talks on human rights; demands for compensation for confiscated US properties in Havana and damages to Cuba from the embargo; and possible cooperation on law enforcement, including the touchy topic of US fugitives sheltering in Havana.
Obama also wants the US Congress to repeal the economic embargo on Cuba, though he faces resistance from Republicans and some Democrats. Those opposed to normalizing relations with Cuba say Obama is prematurely rewarding a regime that engages in serious human rights abuses.
Obama will also face strong opposition in Congress to spending any taxpayer dollars on building or refurbishing an embassy in Havana. Congress would have to approve any administration request to spend money on an embassy.
Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American from Florida, said in a statement that opening a US embassy in Cuba “will do nothing to help the Cuban people and is just another trivial attempt for President Obama to go legacy shopping.”
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