After Five Decades Diplomatic Ties Restored between US and Cuba

Havana/Washington, July 20 (IANS) The Cuban authorities is getting ready to reopen its embassy in Washington on Monday with the original Cuban flag that was taken down in 1961, when the 2 nations reduce off ties.

Rodriguez is to meet later with Secretary of State John Kerry and address reporters at a joint news conference.

More than 500 people will attend the Cubans’ festivities in Washington, including members of Congress. No invitations went out to hardline anti-Castro lawmakers.

In Monday’s pre-dawn hours, the Cuban flag will be hung quietly in the lobby of the State Department alongside those of other nations with which the u.s. has diplomatic relations.

The United States and Cuba are restoring diplomatic ties which were broken in 1961 during president Eisenhower at the peak of the cold war.

On July 1, President Barack Obama urged Congress to follow his decision to reopen the American embassy in Havana by lifting the US trade embargo on Cuba.

“Cuba needs the United States as an economic engine for its troubled economy and hopes to attract new foreign investment and human capital to update its socialist model, but without undergoing political reform”. Fifty percent of Americans now approve of his handling of U.S.-Cuba relations, up from 44 percent at the end of past year.

The U.S. Interests Section in Havana has long acted as the front line in U.S.-Cuba confrontations.

Swiss diplomats took over the maintenance of the seaside former U.S. Embassy and the sprawling ambassador’s residence in Havana.

Another tough issue is compensation for American property seized after the 1959 Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro.

Both interests sections have technically operated as part of Switzerland’s embassies in Washington and Havana.

When asked if they, personally, would like to visit Cuba if travel restrictions were lifted, 48 percent of Americans say they would, and 49 percent would not.

The Cuban government plastered propaganda around the building, including one iconic sign that showed a fatigue-clad revolutionary telling a hissing caricature of Uncle Sam, “Mister imperialists, we are not the least bit afraid of you!”

Just past the stroke of midnight, the diplomatic missions of both the countries became full-fledged embassies.

Washington also wants to ensure the return of several American fugitives wanted in the US.

Indeed, yesterday, Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican who is now campaigning for the U.S. presidency and a son of Cuban immigrants, was caustic in his criticism of the new Cuba policy.

“That kind of rhetoric has less and less resonance”, he said. Some 5,911 lawsuits have been opened in the United States seeking an estimated $7 billion to $8 billion.