Cuba, One Year Later: What Has Changed?
December 18, 2015
Cuba, One Year Later: What Has Changed?
by Stephen Kimber – John Kirk
In Cuba people talk about the enormous significance of D17, the day when both U.S. and Cuban presidents addressed their nations and explained that they planned to re-open diplomatic relations. These had been broken by Washington in January 1961, and the ensuing decades had brought a sad litany of tensions, of which the best-known were the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Missile Crisis. Now things were to change, the leaders promised. And indeed there have been many developments.
Several bilateral meetings have taken place between high-ranking diplomats. Many issues have been discussed—ranging from joint actions against terrorism and drug interdiction to the thorny issue of compensation. Raúl Castro visited the United Nations in September, taking time out to meet with President Obama, former president Clinton, New York mayor de Blasio, and Governor Cuomo. Significantly it was the first visit to the U.S. of Castro since he became president.
Government representatives have visited the each other’s country. From the United States alone the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture, as well as the Assistant Secretary of Economic and Business Affairs, and Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (A Cuban-American) have all been to Havana. And of course Secretary of State John Kerry was on hand to inaugurate the U.S. embassy in August.
Washington has made two important symbolic decisions, removing Cuba from the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, and upgrading it from Tier 3 of the “Trafficking in Persons” list to the level below. Havana disputes both positions of Washington, which it regards as insulting–but the symbolism at the US government taking these decisions is worth noting.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/18/cuba-one-year-later-what-has-changed/
Good Reads:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016139967
