On the road to the flag-raising, Cuban diplomats taunted Washington with cigars and rum


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The road to reopening the U.S. embassy in Cuba was basically a game of this-for-that, The New York Times reports in its tick-tock of the crazy steps that led to the flag-raising this morning (among other standout details, the story features the Pope and artificial insemination!). However, while some trades were diplomatic — such as: these spies for that American contractor — others were a little more sneaky.
In 2012, following his re-election, President Obama tasked one of his top aides, Benjamin Rhodes, and the National Security Council's top Western Hemisphere official, Ricardo Zuniga, with holding conversations with Cuban officials in Canada. But while the Cubans generously brought gifts for the diplomats, they also made sure those gifts couldn't exactly be brought back to the States:
In April 2013, [Rhodes and Zuniga] sent a message, bypassing diplomatic channels to avoid leaks. The Cubans agreed to talk. Starting that June, the two White House aides began sneaking out of Washington and flying to Ottawa for secret talks with the Cubans in a Canadian government office.The Cubans came bearing gifts with a thinly veiled subtext: boxes of Cuban cigars and bottles of Havana Club rum that the Americans were barred by the embargo from bringing home and so had to leave in Ottawa."Someone in Canada is very well stocked," Mr. Rhodes noted ruefully. [The New York Times]
It seems that the taunting worked because the rest, as they say, is history.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
All about Zealandia, the Earth’s potential 8th continent
The Explainer The secret continent went undiscovered for over 300 years
By Devika Rao Published
-
A reckoning over looted art
The Explainer Thousands of artifacts in U.S. and European collections were stolen from their countries of origin. Should they be sent back?
By The Week Staff Published
-
A surge in surge pricing
Feature And more of the week's best financial insight
By The Week Staff Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published