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US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama has announced he will make a landmark visit to Cuba next month, pledging to address human rights as America pursues a historic thaw with its former Cold War foe.
“Next month, I’ll travel to Cuba to advance our progress and efforts that can improve the lives of the Cuban people,” the US leader said in one of a series of tweets.
We still have differences with the Cuban government that I will raise directly. America will always stand for human rights around the world.
The President will be accompanied by First Lady Michelle on the two day visit, to take place on 21 and 22 March.
The Obamas will head from Cuba to Argentina on March 23-24 for a meeting with President Mauricio Macri who is opening up the country to foreign trade and investors after years of protectionism.
Obama’s visit to Cuba will be the first by a sitting US president since the island’s 1959 revolution.
The US leader sees ending five decades of isolationist US policy towards Cuba as a top foreign policy achievement, and had made clear that he wished to visit the island as he nears the end of his term in office.
The two countries restored diplomatic relations in July after a historic rapprochement between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro the previous December.
Since then, new openings have been incremental with the US trade embargo still in place after more than half a century and little prospect of repeal under a Republican-controlled Congress.
“America will always stand for human rights around the world”
Then you should be on a plane to Palestine rather than Cuba.
Or alternatively, one could discuss human rights abuses in Palestine under a relevant article rather than shoehorning it into anywhere and everywhere; ultimately undermining what genuine debate there otherwise could be had on the matter.
Considering the amount of terrorism Cuba has suffered at the hands of the US government it’s beyond comical that Obama can utter such a statement.
What Obama really means is: “America will always stand for human rights around the world, when it’s in our interest to do so. Otherwise, human rights are unimportant in the grand scheme of things.”
Not to mention the human rights abuses in Gitmo, in Cuba, simply because the US wouldn’t get away with such atrocities in their own country
Comrade Castro finally smashed the capitalist hordes.
Monty remember Obama is trying to end the embargo on Cuba and build relations with them. No other president in the last 60 years even considered doing what he did (or is trying to do). Give credit where it’s due
The Yankee dollar will once again rule in Cuba, Money talks and bill$hit walks, in gawd we trust
luke what’s the oil rich Arabs doing for their brothers and sisters in West Bank and gaza? Absolutely nothing, they couldn’t give a fiddlers about them except to use their awful situation for their own selfish propaganda purposes
Obama has failed in quite a number of things, but it’s noteworthy that under his tenure relations with both Iran and Cuba have begun to thaw. I sincerely doubt that under a Republican administration the same would have happened.
If there was enough money in it, it probably would have. The old Republican guard is fast dying off now. In a few years most of the heavyweights will be gone.
Obama is using the closing days of his presidency to all the usual dead duck things one would expect. I do welcome the move and it’ll be interesting to see the response he gets from the Cuban public (assuming it’s not simply a high level meeting behind closed doors which is a strong possibility)
No doubt. Republicans perceive it a failure on his part and the more extreme elements consider it tantamount to treason. They’re still furious they failed to overthrow Castro years ago.
Luke: What’s interesting is the US business community for years has wanted the embargo to end because, they’re guided by profit. The Republicans however bear a lot of ideological hatred for Cuba, because they resisted US state terrorism and have built a state which has achieved quite a good deal in health and education while also sending doctors out to help with humanitarian crises.
Nelson Mandela on Cuba:
“We have come here today recognizing our great debt to the Cuban people. What other country has such a history of selfless behavior as Cuba has shown for the people of Africa? How many countries benefit from Cuban health care professionals and educators? How many of these volunteers are now in Africa? What country has ever needed help from Cuba and has not received it? How many countries threatened by imperialism or fighting for their freedom have been able to count on the support of Cuba?”
Monty, Cuba is a lot of things but I wouldn’t really hold it up as a country to look up to. The reality is tens of thousands of Cuban citizens have fled the country due to political persecution as well as rampant poverty. It’s undeniable that Cubans have a pretty poor standard of living.
There’s also the internal realisation that the US is a declining power and will soon be one of numerous superpowers in a small pond. The Republicans certainly do recognise that themselves now and the idea was firmly floated in the previous presidential election by the Republicans themselves too.
They’ll need all the help they can get going forward.
Jason: Compared to countries in Latin America which were forced to go the neoliberal route under US pressure, Cuba actually fares better in education & health. Its life expectancy rate is on par with the US despite being a third-world country which has never had much money and most of its people have greatly benefited from the state-funded education system. Their literacy rate is again higher than most of Latin America.
Cuba is not a utopia, but it’s successfully resisted US imperialism and managed to offer its people basic services. I think that is inspiring, yes.
mmm wonder why are all them cubans living and working in the US so……
Will he be taking a trip to Guantanamo Bay while he’s there? After all, he did such a good job of shutting it he might as well see what his hard work has done!
The US and human rights don’t go hand in hand for me. The amount of messed up stuff that goes on in the US in relation to human rights is mind boggling given what they preach.
American exceptionalisim, a beautiful horrendous concept
There goes the neighbourhood !
See how fast Cuba will change now, and mostly not for the better IMHO
Yeah, aligning with the Soviet Union did wonders for Eastern Europe didn’t it?
I think you’ll find America had a wee part to play in that.
America had a part to play in Eastern Europe being subdued for 50 years by a brutal dictatorship armed with nukes?
Please, keep up. We are talking about CUBA.
CUBA took its stance partly because of US behaviour.
Cuba actually tried to build a relationship with the US following the revolution, it wasn’t until the US embargo and attempts at overthrowing Castro that they turned to the Soviets for some form of protection.
Here’s what JFK had to say about the Batista dictatorship which the US supported before the revolution:
“Fulgencio Batista murdered 20,000 Cubans in seven years … and he turned Democratic Cuba into a complete police state—destroying every individual liberty. Yet our aid to his regime, and the ineptness of our policies, enabled Batista to invoke the name of the United States in support of his reign of terror. Administration spokesmen publicly praised Batista—hailed him as a staunch ally and a good friend—at a time when Batista was murdering thousands, destroying the last vestiges of freedom, and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the Cuban people, and we failed to press for free elections”
“I believe that there is no country in the world including any and all the countries under colonial domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my country’s policies during the Batista regime. I approved the proclamation which Fidel Castro made in the Sierra Maestra, when he justifiably called for justice and especially yearned to rid Cuba of corruption. I will even go further: to some extent it is as though Batista was the incarnation of a number of sins on the part of the United States. Now we shall have to pay for those sins. In the matter of the Batista regime, I am in agreement with the first Cuban revolutionaries. That is perfectly clear.”
No, but it has placed cuba under an economic embargo for over half a century for having the temerity to want to go its own way rather than remain a de facto US protectorate.This despite the fall of the Berlin wall over 20 years ago. Originally Cuba had no interest in communism soviet style, rather it was pushed into that sphere as a matter of self preservation. Che Guevara was no fan of the Ussr and his leaving Cuba was entirely due to growing Russian influence.
Imaging if the US had just normalised relations with Fidel all those years ago as it does when other governments are overthrown. how different would be the dynamic in the area now? no Cuban missile crisis, no having an enemy on you doorstep, in the way of the Panama canal.
For all his failings in some departments at least Obama has managed to drag US foriegn policy towards some countrys in a more positive direction.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Cuba was free to do business with anyone else in the world all these decades. They could have had trade with any country in Europe or south America, free trade with Canada and anyone in asia. So why such poverty because ONE country had an embargo on them?
If you say proximity keep in mind that since the early 1900′s shipping makes trade of goods incredibly cheap and easy. The main reason for the state they are in is the dictatorship that controls them.
The US is free to trade or not trade with whomever they choose, just like Ireland, and to blame the condition of Cuba on one country’s embargo on them is a childish view.
I stopped reading this article after Obama’s quotation, “America will always stand for human rights around the world”. The hypocrisy is immense and mind boggling. Do the Yanks even believe this? How many wars have they started in the last ten years? How many innocent civilians bombed? How many prisoners murdered or tortured. Was waterboarding a myth? How many dictators supported and armed? This is the only nation in the world to have used nuclear bombs on civilians. This is the nation that in the 1980′s seriously considered that a nuclear war was winnable – to be fought in Europe of course. This is the nation who spawned ISIS in their war games in the Middle East. The USA considers the rest of the world as its back garden to be raided at will to cater for the needs of Uncle Sam.
Your right Larry. But I’ll admit my moment came when Bear Grylls & him started sharing hotel rooms together in Alaska. Going on about global warming I nearly got sick.
Looks like he’s already dressed for it…
About time. The US has being doing business with the Vietnamese regime for years. Why should any different?
Cuba
Thought you were dead?
Ellis fooled everyone, even Hans!! He’s on a beach earning 20%
“America will always stand up for human rights around the world” bahahahahahahaahahahahahahaah
“Take her down Smithers”
“You’re flying the plane sir”
“Excellent”
I call President!
Mmmm…Cuba opens up to world trade every big us company sets up in a country with an educated population and no minimum wage relocation relocation relocation
100,000 paddys on the dole mmmm
Like the DDR (East Germany), if the Americans adopted a “Realpolitik” attidute 50 years ago the Castro’s would be gone long ago.
JFK & LBJ did a fine job of improving relations with Castro
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