President Barack Obama made history by becoming the first sitting president of the United States to visit Cuba in nearly nine decades.
Before Obama set foot on the island, former president Calvin Coolidge was the last sitting president of the United States to visit Cuba; he had visited the island back in 1928. Coolidge reportedly made the journey to address a conference of Western Hemisphere nations, and declare “progress” and goodwill toward Cuba after a long period of strain.
Obama’s visit was meant to normalize relations between the two countries, after years of animosity and mistrust. It was also to cement Washington’s recent diplomatic outreach to Havana, making it hard for any future president of the United States to return to the half-century old policy of isolation. Throughout his presidency, Obama has clearly stated that he and his team consider the isolation policy to be a failure.
However, after all the speeches and promises made by the two countries in front of the cameras, it seems all is not that well with some of the ‘veterans’ who had been central figures during the Cold War.
One of Cuba’s prominent personalities, Fidel Castro, has said that the recent development between the two countries does not mean that Cuba is in need of help from the United States.
Fidel Castro relinquished power to his brother Raul Castro in 2008, after ill-health. The 89-year-old veteran has since retired, and hardly ever comments on public affairs
However, in a full page article, titled “Brother Obama,” which was published in the Cuban communist-party newspaper Granma, the former Cuban president seemed very skeptical about Obama’s visit to the country.
“We don’t need the empire to give us anything,” Castro wrote, referring to the United States in his critique of Obama’s visit.
Fidel Castro told the Cuban people to be mindful of past event. He reminded Cubans of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, in which a CIA-sponsored paramilitary force of Cuban exiles attempted to take over the island.
He described Mr Obama’s words of reconciliation as “syrupy,” warning that the Americans could give Cubans an unexpected heart attack. President Obama had said during his visit that it was time to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.
Fidel Castro also said that if Cuba took the recent development seriously, the United States would be forced to lift the 54-year-old trade embargo against the country. The trade embargo against Cuba can only be lifted by the United States Congress.
CNN reports that Obama did not meet Fidel Castro during his two-day stay in Cuba. It is unclear why Obama did not meet him during the important and historic visit.
Obama was seen frequently with the current president, Raul Castro. Mr Obama urged the two countries to move beyond decades of mistrust and animosity, as this would restore hope for the future generation.
“It is time for us to look forward to the future together — a future of hope. And it won’t be easy, and there will be setbacks. It will take time. But my time here in Cuba renews my hope and my confidence in what the Cuban people will do. We can make this journey as friends, and as neighbors, and as family together,” Cuban state-TV quoted Obama as saying.
From what we gathered, the recent friendly relations between Cuba and the United States were made through the efforts of the Archdiocese of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega, and Pope Francis.
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