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| Obama Says Cuba Embargo Does ‘Not Serve Our Interests’ | Obama Says Cuba Embargo Does ‘Not Serve Our Interests’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| HAVANA — President Obama said Monday that he was confident the trade embargo on Cuba would end, a move that President Raul Castro, standing beside him, endorsed. | |
| “What we did for 50 years did not serve our interests or the interests of the Cuban people,” Mr. Obama said. “We continue to have serious differences, including on democracy and human rights,” he said, noting that if Cuba made changes on those fronts it would help persuade Congress to lift the embargo. | |
| Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro spoke to reporters and took questions Monday afternoon after their historic meeting. Mr. Castro had not done so before, but the American side had been eager for him to permit questions this time. | |
| That led to a few tense moments. In a response to a question about the existence of political prisoners in Cuba, Mr. Castro claimed there were none. “Give me a list of political prisoners and I will release them,” he said. | |
| With this visit, both men have ventured into diplomatic territory that had eluded their predecessors, amid mutual mistrust dating from Theodore Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill to the Cuban missile crisis and beyond. Profound differences still divide the two nations economically and politically, including the United States trade embargo and Cuban human rights issues. | |
| American officials said Mr. Obama had planned to raise the issue of Cuba’s repressive tactics, on display in the days leading up to the president’s visit as the government detained dissidents who could cause a diversion from the official script. | American officials said Mr. Obama had planned to raise the issue of Cuba’s repressive tactics, on display in the days leading up to the president’s visit as the government detained dissidents who could cause a diversion from the official script. |
| The Cubans, accustomed to exerting tight control over everything that happens on the island, have spent weeks admonishing citizens against disrupting Mr. Obama’s visit or questioning government authority during the trip. | The Cubans, accustomed to exerting tight control over everything that happens on the island, have spent weeks admonishing citizens against disrupting Mr. Obama’s visit or questioning government authority during the trip. |
| In a colorful welcome ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution before the talks began, Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro shook hands warmly before they strolled amicably past an honor guard and assembled dignitaries. | In a colorful welcome ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution before the talks began, Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro shook hands warmly before they strolled amicably past an honor guard and assembled dignitaries. |
| Mr. Obama appeared to make a point of walking over to the Cuban military band leader as the ceremony concluded to congratulate him on its performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” — a national anthem that is unlikely to be in its repertoire. | Mr. Obama appeared to make a point of walking over to the Cuban military band leader as the ceremony concluded to congratulate him on its performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” — a national anthem that is unlikely to be in its repertoire. |
| “Good job,” Mr. Obama was overheard saying. | “Good job,” Mr. Obama was overheard saying. |
| Mr. Obama also shook hands with an array of American and Cuban officials, who were lined up on opposite sides of the long, narrow room. | Mr. Obama also shook hands with an array of American and Cuban officials, who were lined up on opposite sides of the long, narrow room. |
| The choreography of Monday’s session has preoccupied the American and Cuban governments for weeks. Both are determined to showcase a new dynamic of friendship and engagement while insisting they have conceded none of their principles. | The choreography of Monday’s session has preoccupied the American and Cuban governments for weeks. Both are determined to showcase a new dynamic of friendship and engagement while insisting they have conceded none of their principles. |
| Monday’s session was the presidents’ third face-to-face meeting since the new policy was announced in December 2014. | Monday’s session was the presidents’ third face-to-face meeting since the new policy was announced in December 2014. |
| They met and shook hands in April 2015 at a summit meeting of Western Hemisphere nations in Panama City, and they spoke in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, when Mr. Obama told Mr. Castro he would like to visit this year if the conditions were right. | They met and shook hands in April 2015 at a summit meeting of Western Hemisphere nations in Panama City, and they spoke in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, when Mr. Obama told Mr. Castro he would like to visit this year if the conditions were right. |
| Before his talks with Mr. Castro on Monday, the president laid a wreath at the memorial to José Martí, a journalist and poet whose ideals are invoked with zeal in both Miami and Havana. | Before his talks with Mr. Castro on Monday, the president laid a wreath at the memorial to José Martí, a journalist and poet whose ideals are invoked with zeal in both Miami and Havana. |
| Martí is that rare descendant whom both sides of a feuding family claim as their own. Or, as Achy Obejas, the Cuban-American novelist, put it: “He’s a little like the Bible: Whatever you want to find support for, there’s usually a little something in his work that will reflect your desire.” | Martí is that rare descendant whom both sides of a feuding family claim as their own. Or, as Achy Obejas, the Cuban-American novelist, put it: “He’s a little like the Bible: Whatever you want to find support for, there’s usually a little something in his work that will reflect your desire.” |
| “Want some really gripping anti-imperialist words implicating the U.S. as a bully? Got it,” she said. “Want some poetry exalting individual freedom? Got it. A little anti-racism? No problem. Warnings about dictators? Here it is.” | “Want some really gripping anti-imperialist words implicating the U.S. as a bully? Got it,” she said. “Want some poetry exalting individual freedom? Got it. A little anti-racism? No problem. Warnings about dictators? Here it is.” |
| In Havana on Monday, many Cubans still seemed uncertain about whether they had permission to try to see Mr. Obama, never mind express a point of view. Cubans all over the city seemed to be constantly asking where Mr. Obama would be — and then not going. | In Havana on Monday, many Cubans still seemed uncertain about whether they had permission to try to see Mr. Obama, never mind express a point of view. Cubans all over the city seemed to be constantly asking where Mr. Obama would be — and then not going. |
| Outside the venue at the edge of Old Havana where the president was scheduled to meet with American business leaders and Cuban entrepreneurs in the afternoon, most of the people waiting for his arrival were foreign tourists. | Outside the venue at the edge of Old Havana where the president was scheduled to meet with American business leaders and Cuban entrepreneurs in the afternoon, most of the people waiting for his arrival were foreign tourists. |
| When asked questions about Mr. Obama’s visit, several Cubans outside a small store with a view of the location turned away without saying a word. State security agents — some uniformed, others wearing jeans and mirrored sunglasses — simply watched and listened. | When asked questions about Mr. Obama’s visit, several Cubans outside a small store with a view of the location turned away without saying a word. State security agents — some uniformed, others wearing jeans and mirrored sunglasses — simply watched and listened. |
| A few blocks away, Cubans and foreigners found themselves running into American lawmakers and V.I.P.s touring the city. | A few blocks away, Cubans and foreigners found themselves running into American lawmakers and V.I.P.s touring the city. |
| Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont was spotted by the cathedral; Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York was also easy to find. Walking the streets with a single aide, wearing a seersucker suit and a Tampa Bay Rays baseball cap, Mr. Rangel said he could not have been happier. He spent decades in Congress working to end the Cuban embargo. | Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont was spotted by the cathedral; Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York was also easy to find. Walking the streets with a single aide, wearing a seersucker suit and a Tampa Bay Rays baseball cap, Mr. Rangel said he could not have been happier. He spent decades in Congress working to end the Cuban embargo. |
| He said he was confident that restored relations would yield benefits for Cubans and Americans. | He said he was confident that restored relations would yield benefits for Cubans and Americans. |
| ”I never knew we could bring such a crack in the wall,” he said. “We’re creating the right conditions for when change really comes.” | ”I never knew we could bring such a crack in the wall,” he said. “We’re creating the right conditions for when change really comes.” |