The Cuban flag was raised over Havana’s Embassy in Washington yesterday for the first time in 54 years as the United States and Cuba formally restored relations, opening a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez presided over the reinauguration of the embassy, a milestone in the diplomatic thaw that began with an announcement by US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on December 17.
Serious differences remain between the United States and Communist-ruled Cuba, and efforts toward full normalisation of ties are expected to proceed slowly. But the ceremony carried enormous symbolism after more than two years of negotiations between governments that had long shunned each other.
In a further sign of a desire to move past a half-century of enmity, Secretary of State John Kerry later hosted Rodriguez, the first Cuban Foreign Minister to visit Washington since the Cuban Revolution, for talks at the State Department.
Serious differences remain between the US and Communist Cuba
While both men stressed the momentous occasion, they also sought to temper optimism fueled by the day’s festivities.
“The historic events we are living today will only make sense with the removal of the economic, commercial and financial blockade, which causes so much deprivation and damage to our people, the return of occupied territory in Guantanamo, and respect for the sovereignty of Cuba,” Rodriguez said at the reopening ceremony.
Kerry later hailed a “new beginning” in relations but said there was much that divided the two governments and that the path to full normalisation may be “long and complex.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the administration was “hopeful” that Cuba in coming years would start to show respect for basic human rights.
Earlier, a three-man honour guard marched onto the front lawn of the newly reopened embassy in Washington, where the Cuban flag was hoisted while the Cuban national anthem played. There were competing chants from the crowd outside the gates. “Cuba si, embargo no!” shouted one group. “Cuba si, Fidel no,” yelled a much smaller contingent of counter-demonstrators.
Rodriguez then spoke at a reception inside the stately building, which was visited by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro just months after he seized power in Cuba in 1959.
In Havana, the US Embassy was also reopened for business but with much less fanfare. A crowd of about 100 Cubans, tourists and Cubans-Americans gathered in front, many clutching small US flags. One Cuban held a banner that read, “Welcome USA.”
Embassy staff flashed new badges and business cards, and the website, Twitter feed and Facebook page of the mission changed. The Stars and Stripes, however, will not be hoisted there until a visit by Kerry on August 14.