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| In this May 8, 2015 photo, a fisherman cycles past the U.S. Interests Section building, behind right, along the Malecon in Havana, Cuba. President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 that the U.S. and Cuba will reopen their embassies in Havana and Washington, heralding a "new chapter" in relations after a half-century of hostility. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- After more than a half-century of hostility, the United States
and Cuba declared Wednesday they will reopen embassies in each other's
capitals this month, marking a historic full restoration of diplomatic
relations between the Cold War foes.
For
President Barack Obama, the opening of the U.S. Embassy in the heart of
Havana is one of the most tangible demonstrations of his long-standing
pledge to engage directly with U.S. adversaries. Heralding the embassy
agreement, Obama declared: "This is what change looks like."
Cuban
television broadcast Obama's statement live, underscoring the new
spirit. In a letter to Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro praised the
embassy announcement as a way to "develop respectful relations and
cooperation between our peoples and governments."
Despite the historic step, the U.S. and Cuba are still grappling with deep divisions and mistrust.
The
U.S. is particularly concerned about Cuba's reputed human rights
violations. Cuba is demanding an end to the U.S. economic embargo, the
return of the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay and a halt to U.S.
radio and TV broadcasts aimed at the island.
Obama
wants Congress to lift the embargo, but staunch Republican opposition
makes that unlikely in the near future. Republicans, as well as a
handful of Democrats, say Obama is prematurely rewarding an oppressive
government that jails dissidents and silences political opponents.
"The
Obama administration is handing the Castros a lifetime dream of
legitimacy without getting a thing for the Cuban people being oppressed
by this brutal communist dictatorship," said House Speaker John Boehner,
R-Ohio.
Republican presidential contenders
had their say, too. Sen. Marco Rubio, son of a Cuban immigrant, said
Obama was making concessions to an "odious regime;" former Florida Gov.
Jeb Bush said the plan was "legitimizing the brutal Castro regime," and
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said it was a "slap in the face of a close ally" to
put an embassy in Havana before Jerusalem.
Indeed,
the historic thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations is seen by the White House as a
central part of the president's foreign policy legacy. Obama has long
argued that the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba, a country just 90 miles
south of Florida, has been ineffective in forcing the kind of change
opponents demand.
"We don't have to be imprisoned by the past," Obama said..
The
U.S. cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel
Castro's revolution. The U.S. spent decades trying to either overthrow
the Cuban government or isolate the island, including toughening the
embargo first imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But
after months of secret talks aided by the Vatican, the U.S. and Cuba
announced in December that they were moving to end Cold War hostilities.
Since then, officials have been locked in negotiations over terms for
opening embassies.
While details of those
terms remained vague, Obama administration officials said they were
satisfied with the level of access Cubans will have to the U.S. Embassy
and the level of restrictions placed on U.S. diplomats in Havana. While
Americans won't have unfettered freedom of movement, officials said they
would now only notify the Cuban government of travel outside of Havana,
not seek permission.
The embassy restrictions
are similar to those in countries run by authoritarian governments
including China, Russia, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Belarus.
Full
diplomatic relations with be restored on July 20. Secretary of State
John Kerry will travel to Cuba this summer to raise the U.S. flag over
the embassy, the first trip to the island by the top American diplomat
since 1945.
Obama did not nominate an
ambassador Wednesday and there was no indication that he planned to do
so quickly. White House officials acknowledged that an eventual nominee
would likely face opposition from critics of the president's broader
Cuba policy.
"It would be our strong
preference that once an ambassador has been nominated, for that
individual to be treated fairly by the United States Senate and
confirmed in bipartisan fashion," Obama said.
Since
the late 1970s, the United States 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.
With
diplomatic infrastructure already in place, administration officials
said any efforts by Congress to block funding for an embassy would be
unsuccessful in preventing an upgrade to the American post in Havana.
The
Republican-led House Appropriations Committee voted last month to curb
Obama administration efforts to work on an embassy in Cuba unless the
White House certifies that Havana is meeting the terms of a 1996 law
aimed at pushing the island nation's government toward democracy. That
law's conditions include Cuba's extradition of people who are accused of
crimes in the U.S.
In its budget request last
February, the Obama administration asked Congress for $6 million in
2016 for the U.S. mission in Havana to "expand its presence and
transition to embassy status to handle more extensive operations."
Even
without specific congressional approval, the State Department could
well be able to access the money it requested because agencies are
permitted to shift relatively small amounts of money among budget
accounts, according to congressional aides.
