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Fidel Castro scorns Obama's Cuba visit

Handout picture on 19 March 2016 made avaiable by the official journal Juventud Rebelde of the meeting between President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro (L) and leader of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro (R) in Havana, CubaFidel Castro said Mr Obama's words of reconciliation were "syrupy"
Fidel Castro has broken his silence over President Obama's Cuba visit in a damning letter published in state-run newspaper Granma.
Fidel, who handed power to his brother Raul a decade ago, said Cuba didn't need any gifts from the "empire".
He described Mr Obama's words of reconciliation as "syrupy" and warned they could give Cubans a heart attack.
Mr Obama had suggested that it was time to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.
In his 1,500-word letter, Fidel also reminded readers of the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, in which a CIA-sponsored paramilitary force of Cuban exiles attempted to take over the island.
President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro during an exhibition game March 22, 2016Image copyrightGetty Images
Image captionMr Obama met with Fidel's brother President Raul Castro during his visit
However, the 89-year-old ex-leader also said his "modest suggestion" was that Mr Obama "reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics".
During his visit, Mr Obama invoked "a future of hope" for Cuba in anunprecedented live TV address delivered from the Grand Theatre in Havana.
He told Cuban President Raul Castro that he did not need to fear a threat from the US nor from "the voice of the Cuban people".
He also called for the lifting of the 54-year old US trade embargo against Cuba, a remark which was met by loud applause.
The embargo remains one of the main sticking points in US-Cuban relations but can only be lifted by the US Congress.
Mr Obama's visit to Cuba was the first by a president since the Communist revolution in 1959.

Cuba visit: Obama and Castro spar over human rights

Michelle Obama, Barack Obama and Raul CastroCuban President Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama sparred over human rights issues including the American prison at Guantanamo Bay and Cuba's political prisoners.
At a historic news conference, Mr Castro said if he was given a list of political prisoners, he would "release them tonight".
The White House has said it has given Cuba lists of dissidents in the past.
Mr Castro does not view the prisoners as dissidents, US officials said.
That disagreement is central to the conflict between US and Cuban officials.
More needs to be done to lift the US embargo on trade with Cuba, Mr Castro said, adding that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp must close.
Mr Obama, the first serving US president to visit Cuba since 1959, said the trade embargo would be fully lifted.
"Cuba's destiny will not be decided by the United States or any other nation... The future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans not by anybody else," Mr Obama said.
John Kerry, Raul CastroImage copyrightGetty Images
Image captionUS Secretary of State John Kerry was among White House officials at a dinner on Monday evening
Obama at the State DinnerImage copyrightGetty Images
Image captionGuests enjoyed music by a Cuban band
Mr Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were later welcomed at a state dinner, along with some members of US Congress and senior White House staff.
The Failde Youth Band entertained the guests, who dined on shrimp mousse, cream soup flavoured with rum, and traditional pork with rice and plantain chips. Waiters passed round Cuban cigars after dinner.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Castro defended Cuba's record on human rights and pointed to problems in the US.
"We defend human rights, in our view civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are indivisible, inter-dependent and universal," Mr Castro said.
Media captionMember of the Cuban opposition, Clarisa Perez: ''We are living through extreme repression here''
Mr Castro is not usually subject to any aggressive questioning from reporters and called the prisoners question "not polite", later ending the news conference by saying "I think this is enough".
"Actually we find it inconceivable that a government does not defend and ensure the right to healthcare, education, social security, food provision and development," he said.
Speaking to ABC News after the conference with Mr Castro, Mr Obama did not directly say he would be giving Mr Castro a list of political prisoners.
"We have given them a lists in the past and they have responded intermittently to our engagement," he said. "And this I think is an example of why it was my belief that this would be a more successful mechanism for us to advance the values that we care about than an embargo and silence and no communications."

Analysis: Tara McKelvey, BBC White House Reporter

Media caption'A historic occasion' in Cuba
President Obama and his aides hoped that the Cuban President, Raul Castro, would approach the news conference with an open mind.
The White House officials also hoped that Mr Castro would be receptive to new ideas and to new ways of doing things. Specifically, the US officials hoped that he'd take questions from reporters. Surprisingly enough, he did, marking a departure from his past.
The two men joked around during the question-and-answer period, and they worked out some of their differences. When one of Mr Castro's aides interrupted his boss during the conference, for example, Mr Obama looked annoyed. But he and Mr Castro moved on, talking about the future of Cuba.
In a similar way, Mr Obama and his aides hope they can overcome other issues, including difficult ones such as human rights, as they forge a new relationship between the two countries.
Mr Obama could not say exactly when the trade embargo would be lifted, but recognised it was necessary.
"The reason is what we did for 50 years did not serve our interests or the interests of the Cuban people," he said.
His administration has done what it can on lifting trade restrictions, he said, but further action will require Congress which is "not as productive in an election year".
He also said further easing of the trade embargo will depend on actions Cuba takes on human rights.

More on Mr Obama's visit to Cuba

Mr Castro and Mr Obama were congenial but had some disagreements about human rightsImage copyrightAFP
Image captionMr Castro and Mr Obama were congenial but had some disagreements about human rights
Six sticking points to better relations - Guantanamo Bay, human rights and media freedoms are among the unresolved issues
Cuba's DIY economy - A new generation of Cuban entrepreneurs are launching private businesses
Internet access still restricted in Cuba - Only about 5% of Cubans have web access at home
Mr Obama said it is not just Cuba that the US has "deep disagreements" about human rights with - it also has disagreements with China and Vietnam.
"I believe if I engage frankly, clearly, stating our beliefs but I can't force change on any country - it ultimately has to come from within - that is a more useful strategy," he said. "I have faith in people".
Reporters described the press conference as "tense" and "remarkable".
Karla Olivares, an independent journalist from Cuba, told the BBC that Mr Castro "talked more than usual" and the claim that Cuba does not have any political prisoners was "complicated".
Before the speech, it was announced that Google was opening an online technology centre for free Internet access at much higher speeds than what is available on the island now.
Google hopes the centre will be part of a larger effort to improve Internet access in Cuba.

Barack Obama in Cuba at start of historic visit

President Barack Obama is in Cuba for a historic three-day visit to the island and talks with its communist leader.
He is the first sitting US president to visit since the 1959 revolution, which heralded decades of hostility between the two countries.
Speaking at the re-opened US embassy in Havana, he called the visit "historic".
Mr Obama will meet President Raul Castro, but not retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, and the pair will discuss trade and political reform.
President Obama's visit is the high point of a recent easing of ties between the US and Cuba, which included the re-establishment of diplomatic missions last year.
Unsurprisingly, his first stop was the newly re-opened embassy.
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet US embassy staff in Havana on 20 March, 2016.Image copyrightAFP
Image captionPresident Obama and his wife Michelle met staff at the newly re-opened US embassy
Mr Obama, who is the first sitting US president to visit Cuba in 88 years, told staff: "It is wonderful to be here."
"Back in 1928, President [Calvin] Coolidge came on a battleship. It took him three days to get here - it only took me three hours. For the first time ever, Air Force One has landed in Cuba and this is our very first stop."
Later on Sunday, he toured Havana's old town with his family, huddling under umbrellas to shelter from a tropical storm before visiting the national cathedral.
The Obamas in Old Havana, 20 March 2016Image copyrightReuters
Image captionThe Obama family braved the rain in Old Havana

At the scene: Jon Sopel, BBC North America editor

Cuba is one of the most exotic places I have visited. The mix of crumbling but beautiful Spanish colonial, 1950s Americana, and 1970s Soviet utilitarian, all laced with plentiful mojito cocktails and the sound of salsa, is beguiling. It's fabulous.
I was here twice last year. The first time was just after Presidents Obama and Castro announced their desire to open a new chapter in relations; the second when Secretary of State John Kerry flew in to re-open the US embassy on the waterfront.
Now I am back for a third visit - and the cocktail that is Havana has a new ingredient. Well, two new ingredients actually. One is the smell of fresh paint. The other is shiny black tarmac on road surfaces where the potholes have been filled in.
For security reasons, no one is saying precisely where the president will go when he's here, but here's my top tip as a highly trained investigative reporter. The roads where the potholes have been filled in, that's where the president will be.
Security was tight and the historic city centre looked uncharacteristically empty. One Cuban shouted: "Down with the embargo!"
President Obama responded by waving.
The 54-year-old US trade embargo is one of the main sticking points in US-Cuban relations.
It can only be lifted by the US Congress, which is controlled by Republicans who have expressed their opposition to its removal.
The other area of dispute is human rights.
The White House has insisted the president will meet political dissidents, whether the Cuban authorities like it or not.
Only hours before Mr Obama touched down, dozens of members of the dissident group Ladies in White were arrested during their weekly protest in Havana.
Media captionWho are the Ladies in White?
The group campaigns for the release of political prisoners. Mr Obama is likely to meet some of its members on Tuesday.
Despite disagreements, the visit marks a huge turnaround in US-Cuban relations.
Media captionJosefina Vidal: "Matters that are internal decisions and sovereignty of the Cuban people will not be negotiated with the United States"
Mr Obama and Raul Castro will sit together at a state dinner, there will be a joint news conference and they will discuss trade.
Since the two presidents announced a thaw in relation in December 2014, they have reached commercial deals on telecoms and a scheduled airline service, increased co-operation on law enforcement and environmental protection.
On Wednesday Mr Obama sent a letter on the first direct mail flight from the US to Cuba since the revolution.

The media view, by Emilio San Pedro, BBC Monitoring

Mr Obama's arrival was broadcast live on Cuban televisionImage copyrightAP
Prominent Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez wrote that Mr Obama's arrival on the first day of Holy Week means "he is awaited by the glory of his popularity and the cross of excessive expectations".
Colombian newspaper Tiempo said Mr Obama put the "final nail on the coffin of the last legacy of the Cold War", but Cuban analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner said the president "miscalculated the wasps' nest he was getting into".
Peruvian magazine Correo said Mr Obama must work to "make sure his progress on Cuba cannot be reversed".
Mexican daily El Universal said "the 'comandante' [Fidel Castro] will go down in history as the person who fought the US to defend the revolution. The General [Raul Castro] will go down as the one who made peace".
However, analysts say there are conflicting sentiments within Cuba's Communist Party over hosting Mr Obama.
He is not scheduled to meet the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro.
The elder Castro has only made one official statement about the thaw in relations, and it was hardly a ringing endorsement: "I don't trust in the United States' policy, nor have I exchanged a word with them".

Thaw in US-Cuba relations:

  • Frozen since the early 1960s, when the US broke off diplomatic relations and imposed a trade embargo after Cuba's revolution led to communism.
  • The embargo was estimated to cost the US economy $1.2bn a year.
  • President Obama announced moves to normalise ties in December 2014.
  • It followed more than a year of secret talks in Canada and at the Vatican, directly involving Pope Francis.
  • The plans included reviewing the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, easing a travel ban for US citizens, easing financial restrictions, and increasing telecommunications links, as well as efforts to lift the trade embargo.
  • The US re-opened its embassy in Havana in August 2015, a month after Cuba reopened its embassy in Washington.
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