Raul Castro fielded tough questions from U.S. reporters on live TV, and Cuba was mesmerized

After a three-hour closed-door meeting in Havana on Monday, President Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro spoke to reporters and TV cameras, pledging their continued bilateral cooperation and criticizing each other's government. Then, in an event perhaps unprecedented in communist Cuba, and one that appeared not quite scheduled, Castro took questions from American reporters, with Cubans watching on live TV.

Cubans appeared shocked, and glued to their TV. "This is pure history and I never thought I'd see something like this," Marlene Pino, 47, told The Associated Press. "It's difficult to quickly assimilate what's happening here. For me it's extraordinary to see this." Street food vendor Ricardo Herrera, 45, said watching Castro field challenging questions was "like a movie, but based on real life." In Cuba, almost all the media is owned by the government.

Obama got the ball rolling, prodding Castro to field a question from NBC's Andrea Mitchell. "It's up to you," Obama told Castro. "She's one of our most esteemed journalists in America, and I'm sure she'd appreciate just a short, brief answer." Mitchell asked about human rights in Cuba, and Castro said that was an inappropriate question then appeared to acknowledge that Cuba wasn't perfect when it came to respecting human and civil rights. "What country complies with them all?" he asked Mitchell. "Do you know how many? I do. None. None whatsoever." He noted that Cuba provides health care and education to its citizens, then slammed the U.S. for paying women less for the same work. "In Cuba, women get same pay for same work," he said.

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His second question was from CNN's Jim Acosta, son of a Cuban immigrant, who asked about Cuba's political prisoners. "What political prisoners?" Castro said. "Give me a name or names.... After this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners, and if we have those political prisoners, they will be released before tonight ends." Castro ended the 54-minute news conference abruptly, saying, "I think it is enough." You can watch excerpts and highlights below, including Castro's super-awkward photo-op with Obama. Peter Weber