that paves the way for a major overhaul in U.S. policy toward the island, senior administration officials tell CNN.
President Barack Obama
spoke with Cuban President Raul Castro Tuesday in a phone call that
lasted about an hour and reflected the first communication at the
presidential level with Cuba since the Cuban revolution, according to
White House officials. Obama is expected to announce Gross' release and
the new diplomatic stance at noon in Washington. At around the same
time, Cuban president Raul Castro will speak in Havana
President Obama is also
set to announce a major loosening of travel and economic restrictions on
the country. And the two nations are set to re-open embassies, with
preliminary discussions on that next step in normalizing diplomatic
relations beginning in the coming weeks, a senior administration
official tells CNN.
Talks between the U.S.
and Cuba have been ongoing since June of 2013 and were facilitated by
the Canadians and the Vatican in brokering the deal. Pope Francis -- the
first pope from Latin America -- encouraged Obama in a letter and in
their meeting this year to renew talks with Cuba on pursuing a closer
relationship.
Gross' "humanitarian"
release by Cuba was accompanied by a separate spy swap, the officials
said. Cuba also freed a U.S. intelligence source who has been jailed in
Cuba for more than 20 years, although authorities did not identify that
person for security reasons. The U.S. released three Cuban intelligence
agents convicted of espionage in 2001.
The developments
constitute what officials called the most sweeping change in U.S. policy
toward Cuba since 1961, when the embassy closed and the embargo was
imposed.
Officials described the
planned actions as the most forceful changes the president could make
without legislation passing through Congress.
Source:CNN
No comments:
Post a Comment