Obama to meet with Raul Castro today during historic trip to Cuba


After President Obama landed in Cuba on Sunday, the first sitting U.S. president to visit the island in 88 years, he and his family walked through Old Havana, dined at a restaurant, and visited the Catholic cathedral. On Monday, Obama gets to work, meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution. It will be the fourth encounter between Obama and Castro, and the longest and most substantial. "That's the future that we hope for: young American children, young Cuban children, by the time they're adults, our hope is that they think it's natural that a U.S. president should be visiting Cuba," Obama told staff at the recently reopened U.S. Embassy on Sunday evening. "They think it's natural that the two peoples are working together."
But it's not clear how far Castro is willing to go, or Obama can go. Castro is expected to press Obama to end the U.S. embargo, something only Congress can do, and Obama says he will push Castro to respect freedom of speech and assembly. "I will raise these issues directly with President Castro," Obama told a dissident group, Ladies in White, in a March 10 letter. Hours before Obama landed, Cuban police broke up a Ladies in White protest, arresting dozens, in a weekly occurrence.
Later Monday, Obama will attend a state dinner in his honor, and on Tuesday he will meet with dissidents, watch a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team, and give a speech carried live on state TV. You can watch Obama walk through raining Old Havana with his family in the AFP video below. Peter Weber
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Shutdown: Democrats stand firm, at a cost
Feature With Trump refusing to negotiate, Democrats’ fight over health care could push the government toward a shutdown
-
TikTok: A little help from Trump’s friends
Feature Trump’s new TikTok deal would hand the app over to 'his billionaire allies,' ignoring national security concerns
-
Antifa: A useful right-wing bogeyman?
Feature Trump signs executive order labeling antifa a “domestic terrorist” group
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
-
Trump declares new tariffs on drugs, trucks, furniture
Speed Read He's putting tariffs of 25% on semi trucks, 30% on upholstered furniture, 50% on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and 100% on certain drugs
-
Amazon reaches ‘historic’ $2.5B Prime settlement
speed read The company allegedly tricked customers into signing up for Prime membership that was then difficult to cancel
-
Trump DOJ indicts Comey, longtime Trump target
Speed Read The president is using the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies
-
Gunman kills 1 detainee, wounds 2 at ICE facility
Speed Read A sniper shot three detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office before fatally shooting himself
-
Trump DOJ reportedly rushing to indict Comey
Speed Read Former FBI Director James Comey oversaw the initial 2016 investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia
-
Man convicted of trying to assassinate Trump
Speed Read Ryan Routh tried to shoot President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course last September
-
Democrat wins Arizona seat, aiding Epstein drive
Speed Read Democrat Adelita Grijalva beat Republican businessman Daniel Butierez for the House seat in Arizona