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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: 1) by art guerrilla on Friday December 19 2014, @02:13AM
all for cutting out the idiotic, spiteful, punitive embargo, etc of cuba, for no better reason than pandering to the cuban exiles who were kicked out and lost their lucrative rackets...
*but*, the timing -as far as taking 'torture' off the front pages- is interesting... no doubt this has been brewing in the background for some time, but i have to think the timing is for that reason...
personally, i would *LOVE* to be able to snorkel some of the relatively untrammeled, unspoiled reefs, underwater parks, etc, they have there... that would be muy excellente, comrade ! ! !
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 19 2014, @02:27AM
*but*, the timing -as far as taking 'torture' off the front pages- is interesting... no doubt this has been brewing in the background for some time, but i have to think the timing is for that reason...
There is always something going on. If you look for a conspiracy, you'll find one. The guys on Fox news always say that anything the president does is an attempt to distract from benghazi...