(NSI News Source Info) April 17, 2009: President Barack Obama’s opening to Cuba is dominating the unofficial agenda of his first Summit of the Americas as the two nations engaged in an indirect dialogue that may mark a breakthrough in U.S.-Cuban relations.
Obama arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago this afternoon, after Cuban President Raul Castro said his government is “willing to discuss everything” blocking a thaw in a relationship that has been frozen for almost five decades. 
President Barack Obama arrives for the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Friday, April 17, 2009.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in the Dominican Republic today, said the administration is “taking a very serious look” at Castro’s overture.
The U.S. broke off relations and imposed an embargo on Cuba after Fidel Castro, Raul Castro’s brother and the country’s president until he relinquished power a year ago, expropriated the land of U.S. citizens and companies and aligned himself with the Soviet Union.
While the 47-year-old embargo remains, Obama this week loosened restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba imposed by former President George W. Bush. He also acted to allow American communications companies such as AT&T Inc. to establish service to the Caribbean nation.
Those actions were “a show of good faith on the part of the United States that we want to recast our relationship,” Obama said yesterday in Mexico City. Castro responded by saying last night in Venezuela that Cuba has sent word “in private and in public” that he is willing to discuss Cuban policies on human rights and other freedoms that Obama said stood in the way of more progress. Next Steps
“Having taken the first step, I think it’s very much in our interest to see whether Cuba is also ready to change,” Obama said at a news conference yesterday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. “We don’t expect them to change overnight.”
Other leaders at the hemispheric summit, from Venezuelan socialist Hugo Chavez to Mexico’s pro-business Calderon, view a change in policy toward Cuba as a starting point for better U.S. relations with the region, which are at their lowest point in two decades.
Cuba is the only country in the hemisphere excluded from the 34-nation summit, which opens today. Many of the region’s leaders entered politics under military regimes and looked to Cuba and Fidel Castro, 82, for inspiration and support. The U.S. is alone in the hemisphere in rejecting diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba.
Chavez, who called Obama an “ignoramus” last month and has been at odds with the U.S. since taking office in 1992, said he will oppose the summit communiqué because of the “unjustifiable” exclusion of Cuba.
Other Issues
White House officials said they aren’t worried about Cuba being a focal point at the Summit of the Americas.
“I think the issues that face the Americas today, particularly the economic crisis and the effects of the economic crisis, are going to be the principal concern of the vast majority of the countries and leaders who come to the summit,” Dan Restrepo, Obama’s director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said last night in Mexico City.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama’s decision to allow Cuban-Americans unlimited travel and remittances to family in the communist country was a “decisive action” that calls for a response from the Cubans.
“We’d be interested to know what the leaders in Cuba and what leaders that might be coming to the summit with that issue on their mind, what they’re willing to do and talk about with those in order to demonstrate that there’s a willingness to see something happen on the other side,” Gibbs said. “That could actually produce something that’s worthwhile as well.”
Calderon, at yesterday’s news conference, called the U.S. actions to ease travel and financial restrictions on those with family members in Cuba “a very constructive, positive step.”
President Barack Obama arrives for the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Friday, April 17, 2009.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in the Dominican Republic today, said the administration is “taking a very serious look” at Castro’s overture.
The U.S. broke off relations and imposed an embargo on Cuba after Fidel Castro, Raul Castro’s brother and the country’s president until he relinquished power a year ago, expropriated the land of U.S. citizens and companies and aligned himself with the Soviet Union.
While the 47-year-old embargo remains, Obama this week loosened restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba imposed by former President George W. Bush. He also acted to allow American communications companies such as AT&T Inc. to establish service to the Caribbean nation.
Those actions were “a show of good faith on the part of the United States that we want to recast our relationship,” Obama said yesterday in Mexico City. Castro responded by saying last night in Venezuela that Cuba has sent word “in private and in public” that he is willing to discuss Cuban policies on human rights and other freedoms that Obama said stood in the way of more progress. Next Steps
“Having taken the first step, I think it’s very much in our interest to see whether Cuba is also ready to change,” Obama said at a news conference yesterday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. “We don’t expect them to change overnight.”
Other leaders at the hemispheric summit, from Venezuelan socialist Hugo Chavez to Mexico’s pro-business Calderon, view a change in policy toward Cuba as a starting point for better U.S. relations with the region, which are at their lowest point in two decades.
Cuba is the only country in the hemisphere excluded from the 34-nation summit, which opens today. Many of the region’s leaders entered politics under military regimes and looked to Cuba and Fidel Castro, 82, for inspiration and support. The U.S. is alone in the hemisphere in rejecting diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba.
Chavez, who called Obama an “ignoramus” last month and has been at odds with the U.S. since taking office in 1992, said he will oppose the summit communiqué because of the “unjustifiable” exclusion of Cuba.
Other Issues
White House officials said they aren’t worried about Cuba being a focal point at the Summit of the Americas.
“I think the issues that face the Americas today, particularly the economic crisis and the effects of the economic crisis, are going to be the principal concern of the vast majority of the countries and leaders who come to the summit,” Dan Restrepo, Obama’s director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said last night in Mexico City.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama’s decision to allow Cuban-Americans unlimited travel and remittances to family in the communist country was a “decisive action” that calls for a response from the Cubans.
“We’d be interested to know what the leaders in Cuba and what leaders that might be coming to the summit with that issue on their mind, what they’re willing to do and talk about with those in order to demonstrate that there’s a willingness to see something happen on the other side,” Gibbs said. “That could actually produce something that’s worthwhile as well.”
Calderon, at yesterday’s news conference, called the U.S. actions to ease travel and financial restrictions on those with family members in Cuba “a very constructive, positive step.” 
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