Cuba, United States reopening embassies

With 51 Americans and 300 Cuban employees, the U.S. Interests Section is one of the largest diplomatic missions of any country in Cuba.

On Monday morning, the United States and Cuba restored complete diplomatic ties following 54 years of no “official” diplomatic relations.

While the Cubans hold their ceremony, the US Embassy in Havana will also reopen.

Shortly after midnight, the Cuban Interests Section in Washington switched its Twitter account to say “embassy”.

The ceremony at the Cuban compound on 16th Street is expected to be led by Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez, making of the highest-level visits by a Cuban envoy outside of events at the United Nations.

In yet another historic gesture, US Secretary of State John Kerry will also formally receive his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez for talks, before holding a joint press conference around 1.45pm (1745 GMT).

“We began a conversation that I suspect will continue on human rights, which we know is going to be a part of this new relationship”, said Kirby.

Even so, before dawn on Monday, the State Department planned to hang a Cuban flag in its lobby among the banners of other countries with which Washington has relations.

A report aired on Cuban television shows the island nation’s delegation arriving in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.

“We haven’t seen anything suggesting practical change”. In fact, according to Reuters, the 2016 U.S. State Department budget request contemplated US$20 million for such programs to aid alleged victims of what Washington claims to be political repression, support civil society and promote free speech. A similar event is scheduled for next month in Havana when Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans a history-making trip to the island. “The significance of opening the embassies is that trust and respect that you can see, both sides treating the other with trust and respect”.

In addition, the USA wants to secure the return of a number of American fugitives now living in Cuba, while Havana wants President Obama to use his executive powers to end the 53-year-old economic embargo, which currently requires Congressional approval, and which the Cubans have described as the main obstacle to the normalisation of relations.

“They had 3,000 to 4000 people that were focused on our personnel, trying to recruit them or harass us”, said James Cason, the chief of the Interests Section from 2002 to 2005. A vote by Congress is required to lift the restrictions.

NBC 6 has team coverage of the historic reopening of the USA and Cuba embassies. The U.S. has removed Cuba from its list of terrorist financing countries and Switzerland is now no longer needed as a mediator between the countries.

A man sweeps a driveway in front of the Cuba Interests Section on July 19, 2015 in Washington, DC.