The Obama administration has initiated a diplomatic process that is sure to make a bunch of right wing heads explode. After almost 60 years of building a wall between the US and Cuba the possibility of a thaw is on the horizon.
Cuba frees American Alan Gross after 5 years detention on spy charges
Cuba has freed American contractor Alan Gross after five years in custody as part of a prisoner swap that could herald sweeping changes in U.S. policies toward the island after decades of sanctions, a senior Obama administration official and news reports said.
As part the rapprochement, U.S. and Cuba will start talks to normalize diplomatic relations, which could include opening an American embassy in Havana in the coming months, the Associated Press reports, citing U.S. officials.
President Obama was expected to make a statement on Cuba at noon. At the same time, Cuban President Raul Castro was scheduled to address his nation about relations with the United States, Cuban state television reported.
The Cuban refugee bloc (block) based in Florida and strongly allied with the Republican party has long been able to marshal resistance to any moves that might liberalize the ban on contacts and commerce between the US and Cuba. There is no doubt that they will pull out all of the stops in the face of this shift in policy. This looks like another facet of Obama's initiative to break up policy deadlocks on issues such as immigration. It definitely looks like progress to me.