Cuban-American poet to read poem in Havana

Kerry’s official actions this Friday will be historic not only for ending the more than half a century of isolation. Piccone suggests that the Cuban government may not be all that eager to put out the welcome mat for U.S. companies.

Retired Cuban President Fidel Castro celebrated his 89th birthday on Thursday with two of his country’s closest leftist allies from Latin America, a day ahead of a historic visit by the U.S. secretary of state.

“One of the reasons that the U.S. has changed its approach to Cuba is the realization that government officials are going to shape what happens here next, while the dissidents will play only a marginal role”, he said.

“This is a new low for President Obama and a slap in the face by this administration to Cuba’s courageous democracy activists”, Rubio said in a statement.

The Secretary plans to meet with a broad range of civil society during the visit.

President Barack Obama wants Congress to lift it, although US officials say this will take time and is not an automatic part of the restoration of ties as it requires congressional action.

Earlier at the march, protester Angel Moya – Soler’s husband – slammed Obama, and said the December announcement to normalize relations between the former Cold war foes had bolstered Havana’s crackdown on dissidents.

Castro repeated Cuba’s demand for reparations worth “many millions of dollars” from the United States for past aggressions against Cuba such the U.S. economic embargo imposed in 1962.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and other opponents of the normalization of relations between Washington and the Communist island have criticized the decision not to invite critics of the Cuban government to Friday’s ceremony. That poses risks because the Cuban government views such contacts as subversive and won’t attend events where they are present.

“The big impact on the lives of Cubans is the embargo and to the extent that the United States and Cuba can now work towards ending that embargo ultimately will benefit them”.

Inviting dissidents could subject the US to a possible boycott by Cuban officials. It argues that dealing instantly with Cuba over points starting from human rights to commerce is way likelier to supply democratic and free-market reforms over the long run. He said Cuba had done “almost nothing” to combat human trafficking over the past year. “We don’t even need to talk about it. Thank you very much for your visit.’ And now, it’s sort of ‘Come in sit down and talk.’ It’s clearly on the agenda”, he says.

“I think about it every night now, seeing that flag go back up”.

Adding to suspicion that the U.S. has a habit of capitulating to totalitarian regimes are reports that the Oval Office secretly conceded to Iran the right to enrich uranium in 2011.