Obama Sees a 'New Day' Coming in Relations Between the United States and Cuba Christi Parsons - The Los Angeles Times
go to original March 21, 2016

Obama: "The Embargo Is Going to End" (WH.gov/Reflect)

Update: In Havana, Obama Talked of Human Rights, But Not Gitmo (The Los Angeles Times)

President Obama hailed a "new day – es una nueva dia" between the U.S. and Cuba after an unprecedented meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday, lauding incremental progress even as he tries to get Castro to confront tough questions about human rights and democracy.

"If we stay on this course, we can deliver a better, brighter future for the Cuban people and the American people," Obama said.

But Castro, standing beside Obama after their extensive bilateral meeting in Havana, called on the U.S. to go further in restoring full relations. Recent measures easing U.S. restrictions "were positive, but insufficient," Castro said in demanding the U.S. trade embargo to be lifted and for an end to what he called the illegal occupation of the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Obama and Castro spoke after a historic meeting where Obama was expected to press concessions on human rights. That may be a futile request, but Obama also hoped to plant seeds for something he considers more powerful than official statements: economic reforms to empower Cubans.

The White House strongly believes that if Cubans gain more spending power, they can loosen the government’s hold and improve their own lives with goods and services like telecommunications access. And it doesn’t hurt to open a new consumer market to U.S. businesses that’s just 90 miles offshore.

If Obama can encourage entrepreneurship, agriculture and telecommunications on the island, goes the White House theory, Cubans will be in a position to seize their own rights.

Read the rest at The Los Angeles Times

Related: After Diplomacy, What's Left on Obama's Cuba Agenda? Baseball (The Los Angeles Times)

Related: Obama and Castro, Side by Side, Both Speak of Human Rights But Sound Discordant Notes (The Los Angeles Times)

Related: One Cuban Family’s 6,600-Mile Trail to America (PRI's The World)

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