President Barack Obama shakes hands with
Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez as Obama and his family arrived
at Havana's international airport for a three-day trip, in Havana, on
Sunday. PHOTO: REUTERS.
President
Barack Obama arrived in Cuba on Sunday on a historic visit, opening a
new chapter in U.S. engagement with the island's Communist government
after decades of animosity between the former Cold War foes.
Obama's visit makes the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge arrived on a battleship in 1928.
Obama landed at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport aboard Air Force One, the presidential jet with "United States of America" emblazoned across its fuselage, a sight almost unimaginable not long ago, Reuters said.
Stepping down onto the red carpet in a light drizzle, Obama and his family, smiling broadly and with umbrellas in hand, were greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. They then boarded a black armored limousine, with U.S. and Cuban flags fluttering from the hood, and headed out in their motorcade.
The three-day trip, the first by a U.S. president to Cuba in 88 years, is the culmination of a diplomatic opening announced by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014, ending a Cold War-era estrangement that began when the Cuban revolution ousted a pro-American government in 1959.
Obama, who abandoned a longtime U.S. policy of trying to isolate Cuba, wants to make his shift irreversible. But major obstacles remain to full normalization of ties, and the Democratic president's critics at home say the visit is premature.
Traveling with first lady Michelle Obama, her mother and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, the president was to visit the newly reopened U.S. Embassy and then play tourist on his first night on the Caribbean island, taking in the sights of Old Havana.
He will hold talks with Raul Castro, but not his brother, Fidel, the revolutionary leader and speak to entrepreneurs on Monday. He meets privately with dissidents, addresses Cubans live on state-run media and attends an exhibition baseball game on Tuesday.
The trip carries both symbolism and substance after decades of hostility between Washington and Havana.
It is also another major step in chipping away at remaining barriers to U.S.-Cuba trade and travel and developing more normal relations between Washington and Havana.
Since rapprochement, the two sides have restored diplomatic ties and signed commercial deals on telecommunications and scheduled airline service.
Major differences remain, notably the 54-year-old economic embargo of Cuba. Obama has asked Congress to rescind it, but the move has been blocked by the Republican leadership.
Underscoring the ideological divide that persists between Washington and Havana, Cuban police, backed by hundreds of pro-government demonstrators, broke up the regular march of a leading dissident group, the Ladies in White, detaining about 50 people just hours before Obama arrived.
Obama's visit makes the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge arrived on a battleship in 1928.
Obama landed at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport aboard Air Force One, the presidential jet with "United States of America" emblazoned across its fuselage, a sight almost unimaginable not long ago, Reuters said.
Stepping down onto the red carpet in a light drizzle, Obama and his family, smiling broadly and with umbrellas in hand, were greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. They then boarded a black armored limousine, with U.S. and Cuban flags fluttering from the hood, and headed out in their motorcade.
The three-day trip, the first by a U.S. president to Cuba in 88 years, is the culmination of a diplomatic opening announced by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014, ending a Cold War-era estrangement that began when the Cuban revolution ousted a pro-American government in 1959.
Obama, who abandoned a longtime U.S. policy of trying to isolate Cuba, wants to make his shift irreversible. But major obstacles remain to full normalization of ties, and the Democratic president's critics at home say the visit is premature.
Traveling with first lady Michelle Obama, her mother and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, the president was to visit the newly reopened U.S. Embassy and then play tourist on his first night on the Caribbean island, taking in the sights of Old Havana.
He will hold talks with Raul Castro, but not his brother, Fidel, the revolutionary leader and speak to entrepreneurs on Monday. He meets privately with dissidents, addresses Cubans live on state-run media and attends an exhibition baseball game on Tuesday.
The trip carries both symbolism and substance after decades of hostility between Washington and Havana.
It is also another major step in chipping away at remaining barriers to U.S.-Cuba trade and travel and developing more normal relations between Washington and Havana.
Since rapprochement, the two sides have restored diplomatic ties and signed commercial deals on telecommunications and scheduled airline service.
Major differences remain, notably the 54-year-old economic embargo of Cuba. Obama has asked Congress to rescind it, but the move has been blocked by the Republican leadership.
Underscoring the ideological divide that persists between Washington and Havana, Cuban police, backed by hundreds of pro-government demonstrators, broke up the regular march of a leading dissident group, the Ladies in White, detaining about 50 people just hours before Obama arrived.
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