John Kerry, Cuban counterpart hold highest-level U.S.-Cuba talks since 1959

John Kerry and his Cuban counterpart meet in Panama City on April 9, 2015

(Image credit: Reuters/YouTube)

At a hotel bar in Panama City on Thursday night, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez sat and talked for two hours, in the highest-level U.S.-Cuba talks since Vice President Richard Nixon and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro met in April 1959. That record is likely to be brief, as President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro are expected to have some sort of interaction at the Summit of the Americas, starting Friday in Panama.

The State Department didn't say much about the meeting, other than that it went well. "Secretary Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez had a lengthy and very constructive discussion this evening," a senior official tells Reuters. "The two agreed they made progress and that we would continue to work to resolve outstanding issues." One expected topic was the U.S. taking Cuba off its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move the State Department reportedly recommended earlier Thursday. Reuters has photos of the Kerry-Rodriguez meeting in the video below. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.