2024-04-14 18:20:13
By: Agencies
The Cuban flag flew again at its diplomatic headquarters in Washington with a ceremony led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, who traveled to the US capital with a delegation of 30 representatives.
The Washington ceremony is also attended by the Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, congressmen and representatives of the US Government such as the Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, Roberta Jacobson, people, groups and institutions of the North American country that have defended the rapprochement between both countries.
After the ceremony, Bruno Rodríguez, the first head of Cuban diplomacy to officially travel to the United States since 1959, will meet at the State Department with the head of that department, John Kerry.
The first step had already been taken on December 17 of last year, when both countries made the historic announcement that they would resume relations, after negotiating in secret for 18 months.
This was followed by about six months of talks and the meeting in Panama in April between Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro.
The rapprochement, however, will not end today because both parties have already indicated in advance that the full normalization of relations will be a “long and difficult” road.
“No one expects Cuba to transform overnight,” said Obama, who believes that the opening of embassies will allow “support for democracy and human rights” on the island.
Raúl Castro, for his part, reiterated last week that, in order to have “normal relations,” Washington must lift the embargo it imposed on Cuba in the 1960s.