Peter Baker reports at the NYT that in a deal negotiated during 18 months of secret talks hosted largely by Canada and encouraged by Pope Francis, the United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century. In addition, the United States will ease restrictions on remittances, travel and banking relations, and Cuba will release 53 Cuban prisoners identified as political prisoners by the United States government.
Although the decades-old American embargo on Cuba will remain in place for now, the administration signaled that it would welcome a move by Congress to ease or lift it should lawmakers choose to. “We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. It does not serve America’s interests, or the Cuban people, to try to push Cuba toward collapse.
We know from hard-learned experience that it is better to encourage and support reform than to impose policies that will render a country a failed state,” said the White House in a written statement. "The United States is taking historic steps to chart a new course in our relations with Cuba and to further engage and empower the Cuban people."
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Thursday December 18 2014, @11:47PM
^ From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution#Reforms_and_nationalization [wikipedia.org]
I take it we're going to go from embargo to some sort of bizarre other-reality where Cuba again becomes a satellite state of American corporations, yet the path to citizenship for Cuban immigrants via the wet foot, dry foot policy [wikipedia.org] will probably remain.
Tips for better submissions to help our site grow. [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday December 18 2014, @11:59PM
Neither the US nor Cuban government ever seems to much care how many drown trying to make it. We give lip service to the value of life but judging by actions we care more about medals.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?