By Robert F Kennedy Jr. (*) - In early December, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than five decades of a misguided policy which my uncle, John F. Kennedy, and my father, Robert F. Kennedy, had been responsible for enforcing after the U.S. embargo against the country was first implemented in October 1960 by the Eisenhower administration.
Analysts agree that the Venezuelan president will need to put aside some of his anti-imperialist jargon and socialist practices to stay in play.
The role played by Uruguay's President in the process which led to Wednesday's announcements that the United States and Cuba are to restore full diplomatic ties, was praised by Presidents Barack Obama, Raul Castro and international analysts.
The first Latin American pope in history sent letters to Obama, Raúl Castro and brokered negotiations which ended up in Wednesday's announcement that both countries are to resume full ties.
Presidents Obama and Castro finalize details over the telephone, make announcement. US restrictions require Congressional approval to be fully lifted. Alan Gross released. Other swaps ensue.
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today welcomed the “historic announcement” made by the Presidents of Cuba and the United States, Raúl Castro and Barack Obama, of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as the re-opening of embassies in Washington and Havana, the lifting of certain commercial restrictions and the beginning of new paths for cooperation on issues of mutual interest, among other measures.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ended on Wednesday an eight-day trip through Latin America with a visit to eastern Cuba, where both the island's independence struggle against Spain and Fidel Castro's revolution began.
Uruguay's president Jose Mujica delivered a message from Barak Obama to Cuba's Raul Castro proposing the opening of dialogue to discuss the blockade, reported the Montevideo media on Thursday. The occasion was the recent G77 summit held in Bolivia.
A delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce has begun its first visit to Cuba in 15 years. Chamber president Thomas Donohue said he was in Cuba to assess the economic changes taking place under President Raul Castro.
Cuba's government has released further information on a proposed foreign investment law that will cut the profits tax in half and exempt investors from paying it for eight years in an attempt to attract capital into the communist economy.