The Obama administration says it is normalizing ties with Cuba after more than 50 years of hostility failed to shake the communist state's hold on power.
(Pete Souza/White House)
President Obama and President Castro of Cuba during a press conference they held. (Pete Souza/White House)
The Beast rolling through the streets of Havana, Cuba, while people wave.
Since then, Obama has moved aggressively to ease U.S restrictions on Cuba, and Castro has moved ahead with broad-based economic and social reforms.
Yet the Obama administration is unsatisfied by the pace of change in Cuba.
Our hope is that they think it's natural that a U.S. president should be visiting Cuba.— President Barack Obama
Obama opened the first presidential visit to Cuba in nearly 90 years on Sunday when Air Force One touched down in Havana.
President Donald Trump has said that after the war with Iran, he will turn his attention to Cuba. He pledged “a new dawn for Cuba” during a speech at a Turning Point USA event in April.
On Tuesday, Santos dispatched his negotiating team to Cuba ahead of the next round of talks and then further fueled speculation of an imminent deal.
3/8Some people on both sides will be unhappy.
Rubio's comments followed Trump’s statements from the day prior, when he said he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.”
“I do believe I'll be having the honor of taking Cuba.
Ferrer left Cuba in October and now lives in the United States.
The nonprofit Prisoners Defenders said that, as of February 2026, there were still 1,214 political prisoners in Cuba.
‘New Golden Age’ for Cuba
The indictment of Raúl Castro coincided with Cuban Independence Day, which marks the official birth of the Republic of Cuba on May 20, 1902, following centuries of Spanish rule.
Among the records is a 2020 National Science Foundation investigation involving Enrique Lavernia, a Cuba-born materials scientist who served as executive vice chancellor and provost of the University of California—Irvine until March of that year.
Its upgrade comes a week after the U.S. and Cuba formally restored diplomatic relations after a half-century of estrangement. The U.S. also removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in late May.
We want to extend our sincere appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen," he added.
People watch Carnival's Adonia cruise ship arrive from Miami, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, May 2, 2016.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on May 18 new sanctions against several Cuban government agencies and senior officials to address “repression in Cuba and threats to U.S. national security.”
President Barack Obama pledged this month that easing the embargo on Cuba and normalizing diplomatic relations would be a better way of supporting Cuban civil society.
The CIA said that Fidel Castro was the George Washington of Cuba, that he'd be an incredible liberator and unite the various minority groups and create peace and freedom in Cuba. That was 1958, 1959. Castro comes in. And how did that turn out?
Cuba relied on Venezuela for much of its energy resources, but that supply dried up after the United States took control of the region’s oil industry following Maduro’s capture.
Cuba is a far smaller country than Venezuela, with fewer people and mountains. Cuba has a population of 11 million compared with Venezuela’s 29 million. It already has a U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay.
Obama and Castro spoke by telephone again earlier this month before Pope Francis visited Cuba and the United States. Francis was a go-between for the U.S. and Cuba during their secret talks.
