US - Cuba Relations
A Step Towards World Peace: US and Cuba restore Diplomatic Relations after a half Century
- U.S. Restores Cuba Ties in Historic Deal [Wall Street Journal]
- Obama opens doors to Cuba after 56 years [USAToday]
- After a half century, a thaw in U.S.-Cuba ties [Miami Herald]
Today:
President Barack Obama talks with President Raul Castro of Cuba from the Oval Office, on Dec. 16, 2014 in Washington. Obama announced on Dec. 17, plans to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, over 50 years after they were severed in January 1961.
1961
Fidel Castro's soldiers repel the Bay of Pigs invasion on April 17, 1961. It was one of the most disastrous clandestine operations in U.S. history.
"The U.S. and Cuba agreed to restore diplomatic ties after a half century of hostility, ending one of the world’s last Cold War standoffs and launching a realignment of the politics of the Americas.
President Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, in synchronized announcements Wednesday, said that their long-estranged countries would restart cooperation on a range of issues and reestablish an American embassy in Havana that closed in 1961 after the Cuban Revolution.
The leaders agreed to a series of landmark diplomatic steps after reaching a deal to free U.S. aid worker Alan Gross, who was imprisoned in Cuba for the past five years. The White House also agreed to return three Cuban agents jailed in the U.S. in exchange for Cuba’s release of one unnamed American intelligence operative who had been held for nearly two decades.
The policy changes would forge significant economic ties between the two nations by allowing American financial institutions to open accounts with Cuban counterparts, easing restrictions on the export of U.S. agricultural and telecommunications gear to Cuba and permitting Americans to use credit and debit cards there. U.S. residents will be allowed to send up to $2,000 every three months to relatives on the island—four times the current limit.
The new regulations will make it easier for Americans to travel to Cuba under the 12 categories of travel now allowed.
The Obama administration has also begun the process of removing the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The softening of U.S. relations with Cuba, a nation of 11 million just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, is the latest in a series of attempts by Mr. Obama to recalibrate American foreign policy as his time in office winds down."
"President Obama thanked Pope Francis for his role in negotiating a more open policy on Cuba.“Pope Francis personally issued an appeal in a letter that he sent to President Obama and to President Raul Castro .... encouraging the United States and Cuba to pursue a closer relationship,”
Earlier on US - Cuba Relations:
"US - Cuba Relations
"Fidel Castro has expressed Cuba’s readiness to cooperate with the US in the global fight against Ebola. Cuba has been on the frontline of international response to the worst outbreak in the disease's history.
In his article “Time of Duty,” which was published on Saturday, the retired Cuban leader said that medical staff trying to save lives are the best example of human solidarity. Fighting together against the epidemic can protect the people of Cuba, Latin America, and the US from the deadly virus, he added.
“We will gladly cooperate with American [medical] personnel in this task – not for the sake of peace between the two states which have been adversaries for many years, but for the sake of peace in the world,” wrote Castro.
Although Cuba is far from being a prospering economy, it boasts one of the best medical systems in the world, and often lends a helping hand in the aftermath of natural disasters and epidemics.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday spoke about Cuba as one of the "nations large and small stepping up in impressive ways to make a contribution on the front lines."
I am blessed with people's love. This common love can be translated into nations co-operating with each other.
Another a wonderful thing is taking place -
People from different parts of the world are getting to know each other through my blog -
the problems each of them face,
the similarities they share,
and in the process, people are discovering their common roots in humanity and getting closer to each other.
Law Enforcement
"The use of the death penalty in the U.S. is dwindling, with the number of executions and death sentences reaching multiyear lows in 2014.
In 2014, 35 people were executed—the fewest since 1994, according to the latest annual report by the Death Penalty Information Center. Executions took place in only seven states.
Meanwhile, 72 people were sentenced to death this year, the lowest number since 1974, the report said."
Academia - Industry Relations
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