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| Obama in Cuba: US president meets with Raúl Castro on historic trip – live | Obama in Cuba: US president meets with Raúl Castro on historic trip – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 6.11pm GMT | |
| 18:11 | |
| Castro: end the embargo and return Guantánamo | |
| Castro continues to say that there’s also been progress on projects to bring medicines to Cuba. | |
| “Much more could be done if the US blockade were lifted,” he says. “We recognize the position of president Obama and his administration against the blockade, and his repeated appeals to Congress to have it removed. | |
| “The most reasoned measures adopted by his administration are positive but insufficient. | |
| “I had the opportunity to discuss with the president other steps that could be taken to remove restrictions that remain in force and make a significant effect in the reduction of the blockade. | |
| “The blockade remains in force and it contains discouraging elements and intimidating effects and [is guilty of] extraterritorial outreach.” | |
| He says he told Obama about some examples of how the blockade hurts Cuba and other countries. “It woudl bring benefits to Cuban emigres who wish the best for their families.” | |
| Castro also says Cuba demands the US: “return the territory illegally occupied by Guantánamo Base.” | |
| He also takes a swipe at pro-democracy efforts: “No one should demand the Cuban people renounce their freedom and sovereignty.” | |
| 6.07pm GMT | |
| 18:07 | |
| Castro delivers remarks | |
| Barack Obama and Raúl Castro are at the podiums, and Castro begins. | |
| “Mr President Barack Obama, We are pleased to welcome you on this the first visit of a president of the United states of America to our country in 88 years. | |
| “In the 15 months that have passed since the decsion was made to establish diplomatic relations, we have achieved concrete results.” | |
| “We were able to resume direct postal exchanges and we signed an agreement to resume commercial flights.” | |
| He praises agreements on the protection of maritime environments and the rights of sea navigation, and he says today another agreement will be signed on agriculture. He says there are teams no working on deals to fight drug trafficking and to work together on medical initiatives, including one to combat the Zika virus. | |
| “Cuban enterprises and their American counterparts are working to identify possible commercial operations that could materialize in the still restrictive framework of regulations. Some have already begun, especially in telecommunications.” | |
| 5.56pm GMT | |
| 17:56 | |
| We’re waiting on Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, who’ve finished the first bilateral meeting between an American and Cuban president and are expected to deliver remarks any minute now. | |
| Obama's closest adviser Valerie Jarrett waits for her boss to walk into the press conference with Raul Castro pic.twitter.com/MaW09RswQv | |
| 5.44pm GMT | |
| 17:44 | |
| Jonathan Watts | |
| The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Jonathan Watts, is with the giant American delegation to Cuba and investigating a conspicuous lack of Castro yesterday when Barack Obama landed in Havana. | |
| There has been a lot of speculation in Havana about why Castro did not welcome Obama at the airport on Sunday, as he did for Pope Francis last September. Instead, the official greeting was from foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez. | |
| This was also a lower level of protocol than Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro received – both leaders were met by the government’s number two, Diaz Cannel. | |
| Asked whether this was a snub, US officials dismissed Castro’s absence. saying it was not normal or expected on visits of this type to be met at the airport by a president. Maybe “US normal” is different from “Cuban normal”? | |
| It has been a challenge getting around Havana today because of the traffic disruption caused by the Obama motorcade. Chunks of the city have been blocked off and drivers are never sure how long they will have to wait. | |
| As he got more frustrated this morning, my driver started singing a ditty, “Oh Obama, que vienes a hacer, aqui en Habana?” | |
| En ingles: “Oh Obama, what have you come to do, here in Havana?” | |
| 5.26pm GMT | 5.26pm GMT |
| 17:26 | 17:26 |
| My colleague Dan Roberts is heading into the heart of the revolution – or at least the palace of it – in anticipation for Raúl Castro and Barack Obama’s remarks there. | My colleague Dan Roberts is heading into the heart of the revolution – or at least the palace of it – in anticipation for Raúl Castro and Barack Obama’s remarks there. |
| White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price leads journalists into the Cuban Palace of the Revolution pic.twitter.com/44lCxNpcrP | White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price leads journalists into the Cuban Palace of the Revolution pic.twitter.com/44lCxNpcrP |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.27pm GMT | at 5.27pm GMT |
| 5.14pm GMT | 5.14pm GMT |
| 17:14 | 17:14 |
| If you’re currently in Cuba, you can share eyewitness accounts, photos and videos with our journalists by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button above. We’ll use some of the most interesting in our ongoing coverage of Obama’s visit. | If you’re currently in Cuba, you can share eyewitness accounts, photos and videos with our journalists by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button above. We’ll use some of the most interesting in our ongoing coverage of Obama’s visit. |
| You can also share your stories, photos and videos with the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44 (0) 7867 825056. Please think about your security first when recording and sharing your content. | You can also share your stories, photos and videos with the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44 (0) 7867 825056. Please think about your security first when recording and sharing your content. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.15pm GMT | at 5.15pm GMT |
| 4.53pm GMT | 4.53pm GMT |
| 16:53 | 16:53 |
| On the sidelines of the talks between Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, the US and Cuba are working on another extraordinary set of negotiations: an end to the decades of war between leftist guerrillas and the Colombian government. Sibylla Brodzinsky reports from Bogotá: | On the sidelines of the talks between Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, the US and Cuba are working on another extraordinary set of negotiations: an end to the decades of war between leftist guerrillas and the Colombian government. Sibylla Brodzinsky reports from Bogotá: |
| This afternoon, US Secretary of State John Kerry may meet Colombian rebels who are negotiating an agreement to end Latin America’s longest-running insurgency. | This afternoon, US Secretary of State John Kerry may meet Colombian rebels who are negotiating an agreement to end Latin America’s longest-running insurgency. |
| American diplomats will first meet with the government team from Bogotá, which has been engaged in peace talks with leaders of the Farc, Latin America’s oldest guerrilla group, for more than three years. Kerry may meet separately with rebel negotiators in the exclusive Laguito neighborhood where the talks have been held since 2012. | American diplomats will first meet with the government team from Bogotá, which has been engaged in peace talks with leaders of the Farc, Latin America’s oldest guerrilla group, for more than three years. Kerry may meet separately with rebel negotiators in the exclusive Laguito neighborhood where the talks have been held since 2012. |
| Kerry’s possible meeting with Farc is significant because the rebel group has been on the US list of terrorist groups since 1997, and many of its leaders are wanted in US courts on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. | Kerry’s possible meeting with Farc is significant because the rebel group has been on the US list of terrorist groups since 1997, and many of its leaders are wanted in US courts on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. |
| Last year, Washington named a special envoy, Bernard Aronson, to the talks as a private citizen. He has a special dispensation to engage with Farc rebels, while they negotiate an end to their 52-year war against the Colombian state. | Last year, Washington named a special envoy, Bernard Aronson, to the talks as a private citizen. He has a special dispensation to engage with Farc rebels, while they negotiate an end to their 52-year war against the Colombian state. |
| Hoping to coincide with Obama’s historic trip to Cuba, Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, and Farc’s leader, Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londono, had set 23 March as a deadline to reach a final peace agreement. | Hoping to coincide with Obama’s historic trip to Cuba, Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, and Farc’s leader, Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londono, had set 23 March as a deadline to reach a final peace agreement. |
| The two sides remain far apart on crucial issues of how rebels will demobilise, and how to implement the accords. Analysts expect a comprehensive agreement could take several more months to finalise. | The two sides remain far apart on crucial issues of how rebels will demobilise, and how to implement the accords. Analysts expect a comprehensive agreement could take several more months to finalise. |
| The United States has expressed overwhelming support for the Colombia peace talks, and Barack Obama has asked Congress to support post-conflict peace efforts with $450m is US aid. | The United States has expressed overwhelming support for the Colombia peace talks, and Barack Obama has asked Congress to support post-conflict peace efforts with $450m is US aid. |
| On Tuesday, both Colombian government and rebel negotiators are expected to present at an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba’s national team, with Obama and Castro also in the stands. | On Tuesday, both Colombian government and rebel negotiators are expected to present at an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba’s national team, with Obama and Castro also in the stands. |
| *Note from New York: asked whether the secretary of state would meet with negotiators, the State Department referred us to a schedule that said Kerry would follow the president’s day plan around Havana. | *Note from New York: asked whether the secretary of state would meet with negotiators, the State Department referred us to a schedule that said Kerry would follow the president’s day plan around Havana. |
| Related: How a prisoner in Colorado could help end half century of war in Colombia | Related: How a prisoner in Colorado could help end half century of war in Colombia |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.05pm GMT | at 5.05pm GMT |
| 4.37pm GMT | 4.37pm GMT |
| 16:37 | 16:37 |
| Lisa O'Carroll | Lisa O'Carroll |
| Lisa O’Carroll is out getting a sense of US-Cuba relations on the streets of Havana, and, at the moment, from inside a museum where the cold war still rages. She’s discovered “The Corner of the Cretins”, complete with Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush and a Nazi-helmeted George W Bush. | Lisa O’Carroll is out getting a sense of US-Cuba relations on the streets of Havana, and, at the moment, from inside a museum where the cold war still rages. She’s discovered “The Corner of the Cretins”, complete with Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush and a Nazi-helmeted George W Bush. |
| Anti American rhetoric is far from subtle in the exhibits in the Museum of the Revolution in Havana. Here Republican presidents are openly referred to as “cretins” who helped the Cuban cause while elsewhere in the museum American allies in Cuba referred to as “lackeys”. | Anti American rhetoric is far from subtle in the exhibits in the Museum of the Revolution in Havana. Here Republican presidents are openly referred to as “cretins” who helped the Cuban cause while elsewhere in the museum American allies in Cuba referred to as “lackeys”. |
| 4.15pm GMT | 4.15pm GMT |
| 16:15 | 16:15 |
| Lisa O'Carroll | Lisa O'Carroll |
| My colleague Lisa O’Carroll is also in Havana, though meeting with locals rather than pursuing the diplomatic hubbub that is Barack Obama’s motorcade. She reports from the streets of Old Havana: | My colleague Lisa O’Carroll is also in Havana, though meeting with locals rather than pursuing the diplomatic hubbub that is Barack Obama’s motorcade. She reports from the streets of Old Havana: |
| Obama’s visit to Cuba was a washout for locals last night who endured hours in torrential rain hoping for a glimpse of the US president. | Obama’s visit to Cuba was a washout for locals last night who endured hours in torrential rain hoping for a glimpse of the US president. |
| His planned walkabout in Old Havana was mostly abandoned, but anticipation that he or any of his entourage would whizz through the streets lasted well into the night. People gathered on street corners and balconies, and jumped at the sound of any fast modern car, rare enough sights for Cubans more accustomed to beat-up Ladas, Skodas or cars imported from the US in the 1950s. | His planned walkabout in Old Havana was mostly abandoned, but anticipation that he or any of his entourage would whizz through the streets lasted well into the night. People gathered on street corners and balconies, and jumped at the sound of any fast modern car, rare enough sights for Cubans more accustomed to beat-up Ladas, Skodas or cars imported from the US in the 1950s. |
| The dilapidation in Old Havana is extraordinary. It is a miracle many of these historical buildings, which would have been condemned in Europe or America, still stand. Here’s a typical street in downtown Havana. | The dilapidation in Old Havana is extraordinary. It is a miracle many of these historical buildings, which would have been condemned in Europe or America, still stand. Here’s a typical street in downtown Havana. |
| As Obama walked around as his entourage passed in the distance, men, women and children hovered wherever they thought they might have a vantage. Security everywhere meant public couldn’t get close. Cubans’ best hope for a sight of the US president might be tomorrow, when he makes a speech in Parque Centrale. | As Obama walked around as his entourage passed in the distance, men, women and children hovered wherever they thought they might have a vantage. Security everywhere meant public couldn’t get close. Cubans’ best hope for a sight of the US president might be tomorrow, when he makes a speech in Parque Centrale. |
| 4.02pm GMT | 4.02pm GMT |
| 16:02 | 16:02 |
| At the museum for José Martí, Barack Obama left a long note whose text wasn’t legible on the Cuban live footage of his visit. The White House press pool has dutifully gone back to find out what he wrote in the guest book. | At the museum for José Martí, Barack Obama left a long note whose text wasn’t legible on the Cuban live footage of his visit. The White House press pool has dutifully gone back to find out what he wrote in the guest book. |
| “It is a great honor to pay tribute to Jose Marti, who gave his life for independence of his homeland,” Obama wrote. “His passion for liberty, freedom and self-determination lives on in the Cuban people today.” | “It is a great honor to pay tribute to Jose Marti, who gave his life for independence of his homeland,” Obama wrote. “His passion for liberty, freedom and self-determination lives on in the Cuban people today.” |
| Obama signing the guestbook at the José Marti Memorial/Museum pic.twitter.com/xjTEq1s1Mp | Obama signing the guestbook at the José Marti Memorial/Museum pic.twitter.com/xjTEq1s1Mp |
| 3.57pm GMT | 3.57pm GMT |
| 15:57 | 15:57 |
| The remarkable juxtapositions keep coming from the White House press corps. Here’s the president of the United States standing in front of monuments to Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, the revolutionaries who were Fidel Castro’s top lieutenants. | The remarkable juxtapositions keep coming from the White House press corps. Here’s the president of the United States standing in front of monuments to Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, the revolutionaries who were Fidel Castro’s top lieutenants. |
| #ObamaenCuba #Ché #Cienfuegos pic.twitter.com/CGNCYApMYc | #ObamaenCuba #Ché #Cienfuegos pic.twitter.com/CGNCYApMYc |
| 3.50pm GMT | 3.50pm GMT |
| 15:50 | 15:50 |
| The White House pool reporters are filing their notes of the morning. | The White House pool reporters are filing their notes of the morning. |
| When the president’s motorcade left for the José Martí memorial, one writes, “hundreds of people lined the street on many stretches of the route, waving and taking pictures of the motorcade.” | When the president’s motorcade left for the José Martí memorial, one writes, “hundreds of people lined the street on many stretches of the route, waving and taking pictures of the motorcade.” |
| The only major reminder that this is Cuba, the cold war foe and communist neighbor, was “an enormous banner of Huge Chavez [was] hanging on one lovely estate; it might have been the Venezuelan embassy, as we were in the diplomatic neighborhood.” | The only major reminder that this is Cuba, the cold war foe and communist neighbor, was “an enormous banner of Huge Chavez [was] hanging on one lovely estate; it might have been the Venezuelan embassy, as we were in the diplomatic neighborhood.” |
| The pooler then had a few notes about Obama’s visit to the nearby museum, where the 96-year-old director, Aide Diaz Ortega, met him. | The pooler then had a few notes about Obama’s visit to the nearby museum, where the 96-year-old director, Aide Diaz Ortega, met him. |
| Obama signed the guest book as Ms. Ortega watched him pen a longish note (contents to come) taking his hand afterward to thank home for coming -- “muy amable” of him, she said – and to tell him about Jose Marti. | Obama signed the guest book as Ms. Ortega watched him pen a longish note (contents to come) taking his hand afterward to thank home for coming -- “muy amable” of him, she said – and to tell him about Jose Marti. |
| Around this point Obama told her he would have to come back after he finished being president, and then head off to the Palace of the Revolution for his meeting with Raúl Castro. | Around this point Obama told her he would have to come back after he finished being president, and then head off to the Palace of the Revolution for his meeting with Raúl Castro. |
| .@JohnKerry @AmbassadorRice Vilsack @PennyPritzker @rhodes44 @PressSec listen to national anthem @ Rev Palace pic.twitter.com/2GgquqkzRy | .@JohnKerry @AmbassadorRice Vilsack @PennyPritzker @rhodes44 @PressSec listen to national anthem @ Rev Palace pic.twitter.com/2GgquqkzRy |
| One pool reporter caught up with Secretary of State John Kerry, who was at the palace and also at the wreath-laying ceremony. | One pool reporter caught up with Secretary of State John Kerry, who was at the palace and also at the wreath-laying ceremony. |
| “I thought it was very interesting,” [he said of] the wreath laying ceremony. “It was more than that, you felt that it was a historic moment.” | “I thought it was very interesting,” [he said of] the wreath laying ceremony. “It was more than that, you felt that it was a historic moment.” |
| I asked him if he cried during the ceremony | I asked him if he cried during the ceremony |
| And he shook his head and said “No.” | And he shook his head and said “No.” |
| I did. | I did. |
| The Beast in front of the José Marti Memorial/Museum in Havana pic.twitter.com/YbbAHOISH8 | The Beast in front of the José Marti Memorial/Museum in Havana pic.twitter.com/YbbAHOISH8 |
| 3.38pm GMT | 3.38pm GMT |
| 15:38 | 15:38 |
| What was said the first time an American president met a Cuban one within the Havana’s halls of power? | What was said the first time an American president met a Cuban one within the Havana’s halls of power? |
| “We had a great dinner.” | “We had a great dinner.” |
| After meeting in the Palace of the Revolution, Raúl Castro asked Barack Obama how he found Havana so far. “We had a great tour yesterday,” Obama said. “Enjoyed it.” | After meeting in the Palace of the Revolution, Raúl Castro asked Barack Obama how he found Havana so far. “We had a great tour yesterday,” Obama said. “Enjoyed it.” |
| Per the White House pool report, Obama and Castro then spent a few moments “talking about the common experience of raising daughters.” | Per the White House pool report, Obama and Castro then spent a few moments “talking about the common experience of raising daughters.” |
| President Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Castrohttps://t.co/WJUNqKUzmI | President Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Castrohttps://t.co/WJUNqKUzmI |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.41pm GMT | at 3.41pm GMT |
| 3.28pm GMT | 3.28pm GMT |
| 15:28 | 15:28 |
| My colleague Dan Roberts captured a bit of the moment when the Star Spangled Banner played over Cuban soil at the memorial of a revolutionary who fought to bring the country independence from Spain. | My colleague Dan Roberts captured a bit of the moment when the Star Spangled Banner played over Cuban soil at the memorial of a revolutionary who fought to bring the country independence from Spain. |
| Cuban band play Star-Spangled Banner in Revolution Square (via live feed) chills spines in White House press centre pic.twitter.com/fKdWZEW5RJ | Cuban band play Star-Spangled Banner in Revolution Square (via live feed) chills spines in White House press centre pic.twitter.com/fKdWZEW5RJ |