President
Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, children Sasha and Malia and the First
Lady's mother, Marian Robinson is the first sitting
president in nearly 90 years to visit the island.
'¿Que bolá Cuba? (What's up Cuba?). Just touched down here,
looking forward to meeting and hearing directly from the Cuban people.'
Rain on their parade: The Obamas
looked less than impressed by the rain as it fell on them while they
toured Old Havana after landing in Cuba on Sunday evening
Taking shelter: The Obama family did
their best to stay dry as they were taken around the old town in the
first hours of
their historic visit
their historic visit
The president appeared to be explaining something to his daughter Malia as they were guided around Old Havana on a rainy evening
U.S. President Barack Obama stands near a portrait of Abraham Lincoln as he is guided on a tour of Old Havana, Cuba
President Barack Obama stepped over a puddle as he and his family toured the cobbled streets of Old Havana
Michelle and Malia Obama were also careful to stay on their feet as they made their way through the old town's center
Long legs: Obama made his way through the rain on an evening that saw him meet with embassy staff at a hotel in Havana
Cuban
and American flags were flown from the president's car as it left the
airport in the direction of Havana's old town, where he will be given a
tour this evening.
The
first family will now spend three days on the island. As they left,
protesters marching against Cuba's human rights record were arrested in
Havana.
The
U.S. president will meet with Cuban dictator Raul Castro during his
visit, as well as dissidents of the authoritarian government. He will
also give a televised speech from Havana's national theater, Gran Teatro
Alicia Alonso.
Republican
presidential front runner Donald Trump accused Castro of disrespecting
the United States by not meeting Obama at the airport.
'Wow,
President Obama just landed in Cuba, a big deal, and Raul Castro wasn't
even there to greet him. He greeted Pope and others. No respect,' Trump
tweeted.
Obama's
first stop after landing in Cuba was meeting with staff at the recently
re-opened embassy. The inclement weather meant the president chatted
with workers at a nearby hotel instead of the consulate.
The
president said: 'Back in 1928, President Coolidge came on a battleship,
it took him three days to get here. It only took me three hours.
'Having a US embassy means we're more effectively able to advance our values, our interests and understand more effectively.
'This
is a historic visit and a historic opportunity. I know it's been a
pretty busy seven months. But I want you to know, everything we've
accomplished so far, it's all happening because of you. Every day you're
bringing the US and Cuba closer together.'
Speaking
to diplomatic staff, he added: 'I'm so glad you brought your families
here because I always like taking pictures with kids. Their future is
what we all work for so hard and I'm so grateful to all of you for
making it happen.'
The
U.S. operated out of the embassy during the detente between the U.S.
and the Castro regime from 1977 until the summer of 2015, but it was
under the authority of the Swiss government, which served as the
protecting power.
It
officially assumed the role of the United States' mission in Cuba on
July 20, 2015, when diplomatic ties were formally restored.
Dozens of people began to gather beside the U.S. embassy in Havana to wait for the arrival of President Obama on Sunday evening
U.S. President Barack Obama and his
wife Michelle approach Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez (left) as
they arrive at Havana's international airport for a three-day trip.
They are seen taking the first step onto the communist nation
Air Force One touched down in Havana -
in the pouring rain - just before 4:30pm ET on Sunday for the visit the
White House says will 'deepen' America's relationship with the
government following more than half a century of tension
Air Force One broke through the gray
crowds as it came into land in Havana, soaring over streets filled with
cars dating back decades
Two Cubans watched the arrival of the
president and the First Lady from their home, where a picture of
revolutionary leader Che Guevara (top right) hung from the wall
The
president's spokesman on Friday said Obama will not shy away from using
his 'bully pulpit' on the trip to address human rights violations in
the communist country that the United States was estranged from for more
than 50 years.
'For
more than 50 years, we tried a strategy of saying, well, why don't we
just try to ignore the Cubans and see if they change their mind on their
own. Not surprisingly, that strategy didn't really work very well, so
we're trying a new approach,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest
told reporters on Friday.
Earnest
said: 'The President of the United States is going to get on Air Force
One, he's going to fly to Havana, Cuba, and he is going to sit down with
the leader of Cuba and say, you need to do a better job of protecting
the human rights of your people.
'He's going to give a speech to the Cuban population, to the Cuban people, one that will be carried on TV, according to the Cuban government, where the President will advocate for better respect for human rights.
And
while he's in town the president will 'visit with people who have
previously been victimized by the government, and encourage them to
continue to fight for the kinds of universal human rights that we deeply
cherish in this country'.
'That
is effective advocacy for American values,' Earnest added. 'That is
effective advocacy for the kinds of principles that we cherish in this
country and in our government. And it is, by the way, an approach that
is strongly supported by the vast majority of the Cuban people.'
The
first day of the trip will see the entire first family, including
Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, take a tour of Old Havana.
As
part of their 'cultural outreach' they will stop by the Havana
Cathedral to see Cardinal Jaime Ortega. The Cuban cardinal played a
crucial role in the thawing of relations between the United States and
his home country.
The
first family's visit to his church will 'mark the important role of the
Catholic Church in the lives of the Cuban people', the White House said
this week on a planning call, 'and in the increasing relations' between
the two countries.
On
Monday morning, the president will honor Cuban revolutionary José
Marti, a hero in the Cuban revolt against Spain, by laying a wreath at
his memorial, a 358ft tower, in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución, before
his meeting with Raul Castro.
The
president will be 'very candid about areas of disagreement' at their
meeting, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said, 'including
the human rights practices that have concerned us in Cuba and our
support for universal values in Cuba'.
Both
presidents are expected to deliver statements after the meeting and the
White House indicated on Friday that Obama would likely take questions
from the Press, although a formal news conference has not been
scheduled.
Obama
will not meet with ex-Cuban dictator Fidel Castro while he is in town.
The 1950s era Cuban revolutionary turned over power to his brother in
2006 temporarily for health reasons and made the transition permanent in
2008.
The
88-year-old has rarely been seen in public since handing over power,
prompting rumors that he is in failing health. His last observed outing
was in February.
'Neither we nor the Cubans have pursued such a meeting,' Rhodes said Wednesday.
Mrs
Obama will meanwhile on Monday meet with female Cuban students, some of
whom have studied in the U.S., as part of her Let Girls Learn
initiative, the White House said.
'Americans
and Cubans share a love of baseball, and this is yet another powerful
reminder of the kinship between our peoples, as well as the progress we
can achieve when we leverage those natural ties,' the White House's
chief spokesman, Earnest, said Friday.
The weather is said to have taken a turn for the worse just moments before the President landed
Obama points to the crowd as he heads
to his limousine in the rain. He prepared to go on a tour of Old Havana
after getting off the plane
Obama waves after his arrival on Jose
Marti Airport in Havana before being driven into the city for a tour of
its Old Town district
Cuban and
American flags were flown from the president's car as it left the
airport in the direction of Havana's Old Town, where he will be given a
tour this evening
Republican presidential front runner
Donald Trump accused Castro of disrespecting the United States by not
meeting Obama at the airport
President Barack Obama waves as he and
his wife Michelle walk into a room with the U.S. ambassador to Cuba,
Jeffrey DeLaurentis (left), soon after the Obamas arrived in Cuba
President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle talk with the staff of the U.S. embassy at a Havana hotel soon after their arrival
Obama's meeting with opponents of the Cuban government has been especially kept under wraps going into the trip.
Earnest
was unable to say today who the president will meet with specifically
while he is there while promising Press a list at a later time and
access when it happens.
Earnest said today that he had not seen the list but provided assurances that it had not been dictated by the Cuban government.
'The
list of people invited to meet with the president in Cuba is
non-negotiable,' he told reporters. 'I would not be surprised if there
might be people on that list that the Cuban government would prefer that
we not meet with...and I don't know whether or not they've raised those
concerns or not.
'But
I can tell you that the President is going to move forward and host
meetings, and have a conversation about human rights with the people
that he chooses to meet with,' Earnest said,
As
observers have noted, it would be difficult for the president to meet
with imprisoned dissidents without working with the Cuban government,
though.
Not
having reviewed the list, Earnest said he was unable to vouch for the
status of the participants, 'but we certainly are expecting the
President to have the opportunity to meet with everybody who is invited
and chooses to come.'
The
Cuban Observatory on Human Rights last month said the number of
dissident arrests had went up - not down - since the U.S. and Cuba
announced on Dec. 17, 2014 that they would resume high-level diplomatic
relations.
In January alone, 1,474 people were 'arbitrarily' detained, the human rights organization told Bloomberg Politics.
This
week Cuba released seven dissidents and allowed them one trip abroad on
the condition that when they return they will serve the remainder of
their sentences out of prison and be banned from additional foreign
travel.
'It
appears to be some kind of gift they want to present to Obama, but in
reality it is nothing concrete because when we come back we will return
to legal limbo,' Martha Beatriz Roque, one of the prisoners, said.
President Barack Obama (left) with
first lady Michelle Obama, daughter Malia and Sasha and first lady's
mother Marian Robinson, board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force base in
Maryland for their trip to Cuba
The President waves to waiting crowds
as he boards Air Force One with wife Michelle. It is the first visit to
the island by a sitting President in more than 90 years
Michelle also
waves as they depart for Cuba. The U.S. president will meet with Cuban
dictator Raul Castro during his visit. He and Castro are seen here last
April in Panama
Sasha (left) and Malia Obama walk towards Air Force One upon the arrival to Andrews Air Force Base, before their departure
Obama buttons up his suit jacket as he steps out of his motorcade and onto the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base
First lady Michelle Obama steps off the limousine upon their arrival to Andrews Air Force Base, before their departure
Malia Obama (center) walks behind her sister Sasha (left) as they prepare to board the plane to Cuba on Sunday afternoon
The First Family walk up the red-carpeted stairs on the way up to the plane at Andrews Air Force base on Sunday afternoon
Responding
to criticisms of Obama's trip on Friday, his spokesman said: 'I would
acknowledge that there are places where we haven't seen nearly as much
improvement as we would like, but there have been some places where we
have started to see improvement in Cuba, and we certainly are going to
go and press on those changes.'
And
he said of Obama's meeting with the dissidents, 'I think the symbolism
of the President sitting down with them in their home country and
showing support for their cause will be a really powerful thing I think
both in real terms but symbolically as well.'
Obama
is the only U.S. president aside from Calvin Coolidge to visit Cuba
while in office. He and Castro had a formal meeting last April at the
Summit of the Americas Conference but that was in Panama.
The
visit to Cuba by Obama follows an agreement between the countries more
than a year ago to begin normalizing relations, and 'it signals a new
beginning' between the two countries, acting U.S. Ambassador to Cuba
Jeffrey DeLaurentis told reporters Wednesday.
The
Cuban government says that cannot happen until a U.S. embargo banning
trade and tourism is lifted on the country and the foreign government
returns Guantanamo Bay. U.S. officials have steadfastly said it cannot
have the land occupied by naval base and prison back.
A member of the Ladies in White Human
Rights organization is arrested during a march in Havana. Dissidents
called on the eve of the visit for US President Barack Obama to promote
'radical change,' notably a 'stop to repression and use of physical
violence against all political and human rights activists'
Member of the Ladies in White Human Rights organization demonstrate ahead of the President's visit
Members of the Ladies in White Human Rights organization are arrested during the heated March
Accompanying
Obama on the trip are Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of
Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Small
Business Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.
A
delegations of more than 30 lawmakers - mostly Democrats but some
Republicans - will join them. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will be
on the trip, a Democratic aide confirmed. Senate Minority Leader Harry
Reid will not.
House
Republicans making the 90-mile trip south of the U.S. are Minnesota's
Tom Emmer, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Wisconsin's Reid Ribble.
Speaker Paul Ryan chided Obama this week for making the trip in spite of the Castro regime's egregious record of human rights abuses.
'To
this day, it is a regime that provides safe harbor to terrorists and
fugitives. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that the president will bring
up the need for reform during his visit,' Ryan charged.
Rather,
he will announce 'new commercial deals between U.S. companies and the
Cuban regime—deals that will legitimize and strengthen the communist
government,' the leading Republican congressman said.
Ryan
reiterated Republican opposition to lifting the 1959 trade embargo on
Cuba, and said 'despite the president's attempts to undermine' it with
his executive actions, 'he is ultimately bound by it. It is the law of
the land.'
HISTORY OF U.S. CUBA RELATIONS
ABOVE: President Calvin Coolidge
The last and only U.S. president to visit Cuba was Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
Obama becomes the first sitting president to set foot there in 88 years on Sunday.
The
U.S. and Cuba were not on speaking terms for more than 50 years
following the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara that
overthrew Western-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
They installed a communist government and nationalized private businesses, including ones owned and operated by U.S. citizens.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded with an embargo and cut off ties with the country a year
Ahead
of Obama's visit the United States Treasury Department eased
restrictions on travel to Cuba, ending a requirement that Americans
visiting for educational purposes go in groups.
Obama is the only U.S. president aside
from Calvin Coolidge to visit Cuba while in office. Coolidge is seen
here in January of 1928 making his way through Havana in a town car
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