Had been stunned learning there had been all those meetings in Canada, and I hadn't seen a thing about it, myself.
Hadn't occurred yet to imagine anything had been published, having been so pessimistic so long!
Here's the first thing I saw, after reading your post:
DECEMBER 17, 201412:46 PMUPDATED 7 YEARS AGO
Secret talks in Canada, Vatican City led to Cuba breakthrough
By Warren Strobel, Lesley Wroughton
6 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The historic breakthrough in U.S.-Cuban relations began in spring 2013, when President Barack Obama authorized secret talks with Havana, the same tactic he used to open nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Months of talks in Canada and at the Vatican, involving one of Obama’s closest aides, culminated on Tuesday when Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro spoke by phone for nearly an hour and gave final assent to steps that could end a half-century of enmity and reshape Western Hemisphere relations.
Obama believed that “if there is any U.S. foreign policy that has passed its expiration date, it is the U.S.-Cuba policy,” said a senior Obama administration official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.
The Vatican played a key role in the rapprochement, including facilitating talks on the release of Alan Gross, a former subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development who returned from Cuba on Wednesday after five years’ imprisonment, U.S. officials said.
In early summer 2014, Pope Francis - who is from Argentina - sent separate personal letters to Obama and Castro, urging them to exchange captives and improve relations.
When the pope received the U.S. president in Vatican City in late March, the secret Cuba talks were a central topic of discussion. Cuba “got as much attention as anything else,” the official said.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-usa-reconstruction/secret-talks-in-canada-vatican-city-led-to-cuba-breakthrough-idUSKBN0JV2DM20141217
So it was Pope Francis, an Argentinian, who actually got the ball rolling! Wow! This is extraordinary! He most surely has never been "just another Pope," has he? Wow.
Pope Francis also visited the White House:
Many pictures of President Obama, first sitting President and family to visit Cuba:
https://tinyurl.com/yycsfh8e
I noticed at the baseball game, sitting next to Raul Castro was Salvador Valdes Mesa, Vice President of the Council of State, who's been around since the Revolution, where he fought with the original group, with both Castros, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, etc. and has held high office from the first revolutionary government.
As you can see, they LOVE baseball (beisbol) in Cuba.
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read