Obama says ‘it’s time for a new approach’ on Cuba

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the United States is taking steps to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, putting an end to 50 years of frozen relations between the two nations.

“I believe that we can do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values through engagement,” he said in a televised address. “After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for a new approach.”

The relations between Cuba and the U.S. have been severed since 1961. That year, the U.S. closed its embassy in Cuba and imposed an embargo. Obama said that while only Congress can lift the embargo, he is making a number of policy changes to improve relations with Cuba.

SEE ALSO: Alan Gross released from Cuba after five years

Obama announces policy changes

The president said he instructed State Secretary John Kerry to “immediately” initiate discussions with Cuba on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the communist country. The president also instructed Kerry to review Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of international terrorism. Cuba has been on the list since 1982.

Obama also announced that the U.S. will also re-establish an embassy in Cuba and allow high-ranking American officials to visit the island to advance shared interests on issues like health, migration and counter-terrorism. Furthermore, the president also announced his administration is easing economic and travel restrictions on Cuba.

Obama noted he had been prepared to take these steps “for some time” but that the “wrongful imprisonment” in Cuba of U.S. contractor Alan Gross and a man described as a U.S. intelligence asset kept him from moving forward. Gross had been jailed in Cuba for five years, while the intelligence agent had been jailed in Cuba for nearly 20 years.

The Cuban government on Wednesday released Gross on humanitarian grounds. Cuba also released the U.S. intelligence agent who was convicted of espionage. He was released in exchange of three Cuban spies who were also convicted of espionage.

Senior administration officials told reporters prior to Obama’s televised speech that the policy changes came after multiple meetings between American and Cuban officials. The meetings have been ongoing since June 2013. Canada hosted most of these meetings but did not participate in the discussions.

The Vatican also played a critical role in hosting and participating in an important meeting that took place in the fall between American and Cuban officials. That meeting led to final decisions being made, according to a senior administration official. Pope Francis, who is the first pope from Latin America, also played an important role. He issued a personal appeal to Obama and Castro through separate letters, urging them to resolve their problems and pursue a closer relationship.

SEE ALSO: A huge moment in the history of US-Cuban relations

Senior administration officials also noted that the U.S. has been “severely criticized” by other countries for its policies on Cuba. They said they hope that opening up relations with Cuba will “substantially” help the U.S. have greater influence in the hemisphere, especially when it comes to issues like democracy and human rights.

They also noted that Obama spoke to Cuban President Raul Castro over the phone on Tuesday, which marked the first engagement at the presidential level between Cuban and the U.S. in more than 50 years. The two presidents discussed the new policy changes as well as potential for cooperation between the U.S. and Cuba in the future on issues like counter-terrorism.

“The president also made clear his intent to pursue these policy changes but also to continue our advocacy for human rights in Cuba,” a senior administration official told reporters.

Members of Congress react

But not everyone is supportive of Obama’s new policy shifts on Cuba.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the outgoing Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair and the son of Cuban immigrants, praised the release of Gross. But he also criticized the Obama administration for swapping the Cuban prisoners for Gross, even though administration officials say Gross was released on humanitarian grounds.

“Trading Mr. Gross for three convicted criminals sets an extremely dangerous precedent,” Menendez said in a statement. “It invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans serving overseas as bargaining chips. I fear that today’s actions will put at risk the thousands of Americans that work overseas to support civil society, advocate for access to information, provide humanitarian services, and promote democratic reforms.”

Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the son of Cuban immigrants, also expressed disappointment over the release of the three Cuban spies, whom he noted were linked to the murder of several pilots of a Miami-based humanitarian organization. He said the shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba “is just the latest in a long line of failed attempts by President Obama to appease rogue regimes at all cost.”

He also said that once he becomes chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere subcommittee next year, he plans to “make every effort to block this dangerous and desperate attempt by the President to burnish his legacy at the Cuban people’s expense.”

SEE ALSO: Implications of ending the Cuban embargo

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