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Obama in Cuba: 'I have come to bury the last remnant of the cold war' – live Obama in Cuba: 'I have come to bury the last remnant of the cold war' – live
(35 minutes later)
3.25pm GMT
15:25
Lisa O'Carroll
But not all Cubans are so critical of Barack Obama’s speech, my colleague Lisa O’Carroll reports from Havana. She watched the speech with staffers at the Parque Central Hotel.
“It was a beautiful speech, he said things I think: we have to forget the past and thing of the future,” said Sahely Monduy, one of the staff at the Parque Central hotel lucky enough to watch live feed of Obama’s speech.
“It will be difficult for Obama when he goes back because he has opponents who want the blockade to stay. But we hope,” she added.
“It’s good for the Cuban people to have a new relationship. It was a great speech,” said her colleague William Guerrero.
And the AP’s Andrea Rodriguez watched with a Mrs Delsi. “This man is brave,” Delsi said.
Este hombre es valiente, dice sra Delsi mirando discurso de #Obama pic.twitter.com/7RkbyxG3ni
3.05pm GMT
15:05
Dissident deems speech 'terrible'
Jonathan Watts
At least one prominent Cuban dissident has found Obama’s speech wanting: my colleague Jonathan Watts listened to the speech with Ailer Gonzalez, a pro-democracy activist and the wife of a dissident detained on Sunday in the middle of a peaceful protest.
We watched in a home full of plants, paintings and jazz posters. The television is a throwback to an earlier age. Reception was very grainy and the sound cut from time to time. Gonzalez’s views are fairly representative of the pro-democracy activists, if not the Cuban population at large.
She was decidedly worked up by this speech, but not in the way Obama would have like. She shook her head and groaned at the talk of salsa and Gloria Estefan.
“So weak! Bullshit! So far this speech is a gift to Raúl Castro. He will love this.”
The activist started hurling curses at the television. But the dissident household quieted when Obama talks of the need for rule of law, freedom of assembly, for democratic elections and for the right to protest without fear.
“That’s the only good part so far,” Ailer said. “But there’s a difference between saying, ‘I believe in this,’ and stating, ‘this [oppression of activists] is actually happening now in Cuba.’ Because it is.”
Obama’s talk of a “new era” drew only snorts of derision. “So we are in a new era with the same old dictator? That’s a total contradiction!”
As the audience applauded Obama’s speech, Ailer grew incandescent with rage. “That was a speech that will perpetuate the dictatorship. He didn’t challenge them. He didn’t mention the word ‘opposition’ even once.
“He told us to forget the past, to forget the horror and pain of exiles. He talked about what he believed but didn’t talk about what is happening. It was exactly what I expected from him. It was terrible.”
2.56pm GMT
14:56
Obama: time to leave the past behind
Sometimes history starts small, Obama says in the conclusion of his speech.
|The tides of history can leave people in conflict and exile and poverty,” he goes on, “but the recognition of a common humanity. The reconciliation of a people bound by blood and the belief in one another – that’s where progress begins.”
He calls on the young people of to move their country forward – another subtle call for them to walk toward democracy. Then he makes one final nod to the past, saying the Americas’ histories “encompass revolution and conflict, struggle and sacrifice, retribution and now reconciliation.
“It is time now for us to leave the past behind. It is time for us to look forward together. Un futuro de esperanza” – a future of hope.
“My time here in Cuba renews my hope and my confidence in what the Cuban people can do. We will make this journey” together, he says.
He delivers the closing line of the speech in a quieter tone: “Si se puede” – yes we can. “Muchas gracias.”
Updated
at 3.14pm GMT
2.50pm GMT2.50pm GMT
14:5014:50
Obama speaks of the Cuban exiles and their children in the United States: “I can tell you today that so many Cuban exiles carry a memory of painful and sometimes violent separation. They love Cuba. A part of them still considers this their true home. That’s why their passion is so strong, that’s why their heartache is so great.”Obama speaks of the Cuban exiles and their children in the United States: “I can tell you today that so many Cuban exiles carry a memory of painful and sometimes violent separation. They love Cuba. A part of them still considers this their true home. That’s why their passion is so strong, that’s why their heartache is so great.”
“This is not just about politics. This is about family,” he says.“This is not just about politics. This is about family,” he says.
Obama adds that “the home that was lost, the bond that was broken” – these are the trials of Cubans and Cuban Americans.Obama adds that “the home that was lost, the bond that was broken” – these are the trials of Cubans and Cuban Americans.
“People are people and Cubans are Cubans,” he says. “The reconciliation of the Cuban people,” between children of revolutions and exiles, he says, is central to Cuba’s future.“People are people and Cubans are Cubans,” he says. “The reconciliation of the Cuban people,” between children of revolutions and exiles, he says, is central to Cuba’s future.
2.48pm GMT2.48pm GMT
14:4814:48
Obama hails 'new era' of the AmericasObama hails 'new era' of the Americas
Obama then lists some of the joint projects the US and Cuba have already begin: brokering peace in Colombia’s 50-year guerrilla war, fighting Ebola in Africa, etc.Obama then lists some of the joint projects the US and Cuba have already begin: brokering peace in Colombia’s 50-year guerrilla war, fighting Ebola in Africa, etc.
Then the president recalls first meeting Raúl Castro at the funeral of Nelson Mandela, and that they recognized the South African leader’s example.Then the president recalls first meeting Raúl Castro at the funeral of Nelson Mandela, and that they recognized the South African leader’s example.
“We’ve been a part of different blocs of nations in the hemisphere, and we will continue to have profound differences,” he says. But as we normalize our relations I believe we can foster a new sense of unity in the Americas.“We’ve been a part of different blocs of nations in the hemisphere, and we will continue to have profound differences,” he says. But as we normalize our relations I believe we can foster a new sense of unity in the Americas.
“We are all Americans,” he says in Spanish. He urges American countries to relax their grip on ideologies and the disputes between them. “We are in a new era.”“We are all Americans,” he says in Spanish. He urges American countries to relax their grip on ideologies and the disputes between them. “We are in a new era.”
Related: Obama’s Cuba visit is latest step towards ‘new alliance of the Americas’
Updated
at 3.12pm GMT
2.45pm GMT2.45pm GMT
14:4514:45
Obama to Castro: do not fear free speechObama to Castro: do not fear free speech
“There’s already an evolution taking place inside of Cuba, a generational change. Many suggested that I come here and ask the people to tear something down,” Obama continues. He says he wants Cubans to lift something up.“There’s already an evolution taking place inside of Cuba, a generational change. Many suggested that I come here and ask the people to tear something down,” Obama continues. He says he wants Cubans to lift something up.
I’m appealing to the young people of Cuba, he goes on.I’m appealing to the young people of Cuba, he goes on.
“The future of Cuba has to be in the hands of the Cuban people,” he says in Spanish.“The future of Cuba has to be in the hands of the Cuban people,” he says in Spanish.
Then he addresses Castro directly: he tells him“you need not fear” the voices of the Cuban people. He says he hopes Cuba will play a large part in the western world.Then he addresses Castro directly: he tells him“you need not fear” the voices of the Cuban people. He says he hopes Cuba will play a large part in the western world.
“My hope is that you can do so as a partner with the United States.”“My hope is that you can do so as a partner with the United States.”
Updated
at 3.11pm GMT
2.43pm GMT2.43pm GMT
14:4314:43
“Now there’s no secret our governments disagree,” Obama goes on, again referring to “frank” conversations with Raúl Castro.“Now there’s no secret our governments disagree,” Obama goes on, again referring to “frank” conversations with Raúl Castro.
“Economic inequality, the death penalty, racial discrimination, wars abroad. That’s just a sample, he has a much longer list,” Obama jokes. “But here’s what the Cuban people need to understand,” he says, welcomes the disagreements.“Economic inequality, the death penalty, racial discrimination, wars abroad. That’s just a sample, he has a much longer list,” Obama jokes. “But here’s what the Cuban people need to understand,” he says, welcomes the disagreements.
“We do have too much money in American politics. But in America it’s still possible for sombeody like me,” he goes on, “to pursue and achieve the highest office in the land. That’s what’s possible in America.”“We do have too much money in American politics. But in America it’s still possible for sombeody like me,” he goes on, “to pursue and achieve the highest office in the land. That’s what’s possible in America.”
Because of those freedoms, because of those debates, he’s able to stand there as African American president of the United States, he says.Because of those freedoms, because of those debates, he’s able to stand there as African American president of the United States, he says.
“There’s still enormous problems in our society. But democracy is the way we resolve them.”“There’s still enormous problems in our society. But democracy is the way we resolve them.”
He then talks about expanding healthcare, gay rights, fighting inequality, and the fact that there were two Cuban American Republicans running for president and a woman and a democratic socialist still in the 2016 presidential race.He then talks about expanding healthcare, gay rights, fighting inequality, and the fact that there were two Cuban American Republicans running for president and a woman and a democratic socialist still in the 2016 presidential race.
“Who would have believed that back in 1959?” That’s a measure of our progress as a democracy.”“Who would have believed that back in 1959?” That’s a measure of our progress as a democracy.”
There are fewer than couple of dozen people clapping in here now as Obama calls for free and open elections, and end to arbitrary detention.There are fewer than couple of dozen people clapping in here now as Obama calls for free and open elections, and end to arbitrary detention.
2.40pm GMT2.40pm GMT
14:4014:40
“I believe that every person should be equal under the law. Every child deserves the dignity that comes with healthcare, and education,” Obama says.“I believe that every person should be equal under the law. Every child deserves the dignity that comes with healthcare, and education,” Obama says.
“I believe citizens should be free to speak their mind without fear. To organize and to criticize their government, and to protest peacefully. And that the rule of law should not include arbitrary detentions of people who exercise those rights.”“I believe citizens should be free to speak their mind without fear. To organize and to criticize their government, and to protest peacefully. And that the rule of law should not include arbitrary detentions of people who exercise those rights.”
“I believe that every person should have the freedom to exercise their faith peacefully and publicly.”“I believe that every person should have the freedom to exercise their faith peacefully and publicly.”
“And yes I believe … [in] free and democratic elections. Not everybody agrees with me on this.”“And yes I believe … [in] free and democratic elections. Not everybody agrees with me on this.”
“But I believe those human rights are universal. I believe they are the rights of the American people, the Cuban people and people around the world.”“But I believe those human rights are universal. I believe they are the rights of the American people, the Cuban people and people around the world.”
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.46pm GMTat 2.46pm GMT
2.37pm GMT2.37pm GMT
14:3714:37
He then says that these reforms require “the free and open exchange of ideas” – a veiled call for freedom of speech.He then says that these reforms require “the free and open exchange of ideas” – a veiled call for freedom of speech.
“I know these issues are sensitive, especially coming from an American president. Before 1959, some Americans saw Cuba as something to exploit. Ignored poverty, enabled corruption.”“I know these issues are sensitive, especially coming from an American president. Before 1959, some Americans saw Cuba as something to exploit. Ignored poverty, enabled corruption.”
“Since 1959 we’ve been shadowboxers in these politics,” he says. “I know the history, but I refuse to be trapped by it”“Since 1959 we’ve been shadowboxers in these politics,” he says. “I know the history, but I refuse to be trapped by it”
“We will not impose our political or economic system on you. We recognize that every country, every people,” must choose their own model he says.“We will not impose our political or economic system on you. We recognize that every country, every people,” must choose their own model he says.
But he insists he needs to be honest with the Cuban people. As Marti said, “liberty is the right of every man to be honest,” Obama quotes the poet.But he insists he needs to be honest with the Cuban people. As Marti said, “liberty is the right of every man to be honest,” Obama quotes the poet.
Updated
at 3.17pm GMT
2.35pm GMT2.35pm GMT
14:3514:35
“Being self-employed is not about becoming more like America,” Obama says. “It’s about being yourself.”“Being self-employed is not about becoming more like America,” Obama says. “It’s about being yourself.”
He talks about some of the men and women he met yesterday at an entrepreneur event. “Hope begins,” he says, “with the ability to earn your own living.”He talks about some of the men and women he met yesterday at an entrepreneur event. “Hope begins,” he says, “with the ability to earn your own living.”
This is the logic in the financial and trade reforms, and encouragement of travel between the US and Cuba, Obama explains.This is the logic in the financial and trade reforms, and encouragement of travel between the US and Cuba, Obama explains.
“As president of the United States I have called on our Congress to lift the embargo.”“As president of the United States I have called on our Congress to lift the embargo.”
The audience claps enthusiastically to that. Obama says it’s a burden on the Cuban people. “Even if we lifted the embargo tomorrow, Cubans would not realize their potential without continued change here in Cuba” – small applause for that.The audience claps enthusiastically to that. Obama says it’s a burden on the Cuban people. “Even if we lifted the embargo tomorrow, Cubans would not realize their potential without continued change here in Cuba” – small applause for that.
“Two currencies shouldn’t separate the type of salaries Cubans can earn. The internet should be available across the island … There’s no limitation on the United States for Cuba to take these steps. It’s up to you.”“Two currencies shouldn’t separate the type of salaries Cubans can earn. The internet should be available across the island … There’s no limitation on the United States for Cuba to take these steps. It’s up to you.”
2.32pm GMT2.32pm GMT
14:3214:32
“I believe in the Cuban people,” Obama tells the crowd, in Spanish and English.“I believe in the Cuban people,” Obama tells the crowd, in Spanish and English.
The US is normalizing relations with those people, he says. Cuban young people should believe in hope – not “blind optimism” or cynicism – he goes on.The US is normalizing relations with those people, he says. Cuban young people should believe in hope – not “blind optimism” or cynicism – he goes on.
“I’m hopeful because I believe that the Cuban people are as innovative as any people in the world,” he says. “In the United States we have a clear monument to what the Cuban people can build. It’s called Miami.”“I’m hopeful because I believe that the Cuban people are as innovative as any people in the world,” he says. “In the United States we have a clear monument to what the Cuban people can build. It’s called Miami.”
Then he praises cuentapropistas and the ingenuity used to keep relic vehicles running. Cuba’s system of education is “an extraordinary resource”, he tells the crowd, to big applause.Then he praises cuentapropistas and the ingenuity used to keep relic vehicles running. Cuba’s system of education is “an extraordinary resource”, he tells the crowd, to big applause.
"Many people ask 'why now?'," says Obama. "One simple answer. What the US was doing was not working" pic.twitter.com/dprGk9P03O"Many people ask 'why now?'," says Obama. "One simple answer. What the US was doing was not working" pic.twitter.com/dprGk9P03O
2.30pm GMT
14:30
The president gets to the differences between nations. A one party system vs two parties. Socialism vs an open market.
But despite these differences, he says, he and Raúl Castro are working together to normalize relations and create new joint initiatives: trade, healthcare, science and the environment, etc.
“Many people on both sides of this debate have asked, why now? Why now? There is one simple answer. What the United States was doing was not working. We have to have the courage to face that truth.”
“A policy of isolation designed for the cold war had no place in the 21st century.”
He invokes Martin Luther King Jr.: “We should not fear change, we should embrace it.” This gets applause.
2.27pm GMT
14:27
Obama praises the history and love of art – Ernest Hemingway gets a nod – sports that Americans and Cubans share: Jackie Robinson and baseball, Muhammad Ali and boxing.
“Even as our governments became adversaries our people continued to share these many passions,” he says. He goes on about these common values: “a sense of patriotism, and a shared pride. A lot of pride.”
Family and education are also shared values, he says: “That’s why I believe our grandchildren will look back on this period of isolation as an aberration,” in a longer history of friendship.
2.25pm GMT
14:25
Obama: I am here to bury the cold war
Obama then quotes José Martí: “I’m growing a white rose.”
He then says he comes with a word of peace.
“Havana is only 90 miles from Florida but to get here we had to travel a great distance, over barriers of history, of ideology, barriers of pain and separation,” he says.
He says that American battleships crossed those waters “to liberate but also to exert control over Cuba,” and “that short distance has been crossed by hundreds and thousands of Cuban exiles.”
Obama then describes the long and tortured history between nations: the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, the history of colonialism.
“One constant was the conflict between the United States and Cuba. I have come here to bury the last remnant of the cold war in the Americas.”
“I am here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuba people,” he adds.
“The differences between our governments over these many years are real and they are important.”
“The United States and Cuba are like two brothers that’ve been estranged for many year,” he goes on. “We both live in a new world, colonized by Europeans. Cuba was in part built by slaves who were brought from Africa … Like the United States, Cuba can trace her heritage to both slaves and slave owners.”
2.21pm GMT
14:21
Obama: the world must unite against terror
Barack Obama takes the stage in el Gran Teatro.
“To president Castro, to the people of Cuba, thank you so much for the warm welcome,” he says. “It is an extraordinary honor to be here today.”
I want to comment on the terrorist attacks that have taken place in Brussels. The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of Belgium and we stand in solidarity with them.
“We will do whatever is necessary to support our friends and ally Belgium in bringing to justice,” he adds.
The world must unite. We must be together, regardless of nationality, or race or faith, in fighting against the scourge of terrorism. We can and we will defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people around the world.”
2.18pm GMT
14:18
President Raúl Castro has entered the theater alongside other officials and Cuban notables, including the namesake for the theater itself: the 70-year-old former ballet star Alicia Alonzo.
Cuban president Raul Castro receives sustained, coordinated applause as he enters theatre to hear Obama speech. pic.twitter.com/0vMFsyOi1A
Famed Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonzo arrives at the Gran Teatro for Obama speech - the theater is named after her pic.twitter.com/HMone7349I
2.12pm GMT
14:12
Dissident: we need action from Obama, not words
Jonathan Watts
Barack Obama has just entered the theater, Cuban state TV shows, but some of the activists and dissidents he’s going to meet afterward are not included in the audience who’ll hear hims speak there. Latin America correspondent Jonathan Watts is with activists listening in from outside the hall.
Ailer Gonzalez, a democracy activist and the wife of Antonio Rodiles, the founder of Citizen Demand for Another Cuba. She has a small purple mark by her left eye, bruising on her shoulder and broken glasses.
“They beat us when we tried to get in line at the hotel yesterday,” she explained.
Her husband is not here because he is among the civil rights activists who have been invited to the US embassy to meet the president after his speech this morning. This is because activists were blocked from meeting the pope in September.
Gonzalez is very unhappy about Obama’s trip and has low expectations of the speech. “I saw his press conference with Raúl yesterday. It was naive. So far he has not clearly condemned human rights abuses in Cuba, despite brutal beatings and arrests of many of us at the demonstration on Sunday.
“Following this insipid direction I expect in his speech he will talk only in general terms about freedom. It will be vague, maybe even poetic, but there will be nothing of significance. We need stronger action, not weak words.”
Related: 'The oppression is high': Cuban police break up protest ahead of Obama's visit
Updated
at 2.15pm GMT
2.04pm GMT
14:04
Obama’s speech is intended for the Cuban people, and set to air on Cuban television (or at least carried by the YouTube channel of Foreign Ministry), but Cuban government officials are filing into their seats in the theater as well.
Cuban Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel nervously eyes assembled guests & media ahead of Obama's big speech in Havana pic.twitter.com/oIkBcxcbiM
1.55pm GMT
13:55
Some shots of el Gran Teatro, where Barack Obama will soon address the Cuban people and where my colleague Dan Roberts is reporting for the Guardian.
Theatre where Obama will "speak to the people" is beginning to fill up, but it feels more like a night at the opera pic.twitter.com/IHg7kTZtlS
Eight senators and more than two dozen representatives joined Obama on the trip to Cuba, and most of them seem to be in the theater, Dan reports. Five of the members of Congress are Republicans, including two of the senators.
This feels more like the State of the Union than Cuba. Senators Durbin, Klobuchar and Leahy just walked in by press. pic.twitter.com/FtNanjCnvm
The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson is also in the hall: “The Grand Theater of Havana is looking splendid; there’s a lot of anticipation for Obama’s speech.”
#El Gran Teatro de La Habana esta esplendido; aca hay mucha expectativa por el discurso de #Obama. #CubaVisit pic.twitter.com/fynCWhvtQZ
1.45pm GMT
13:45
Lisa O'Carroll
My colleague Lisa O’Carroll is outside the theater meeting Cubans around Havana. They’ve told her that though Barack Obama’s visit is exciting, nobody knows much about how it’s actually going or whether they’ll even get to see him.
Good morning from Havana where the Obama visit is, as far as the Cuban public are concerned, a virtually private visit, witnessed by the world’s media and the Cuban elite but not ordinary citizens of the capital.
Because there is no internet in the city outside the luxury hotels and special “wifi parks”, few in Havana seem to know much of Obama’s schedule this morning other than their city centre is in complete lock down.
An army of volunteers is operating a human barrier at a six block radius from Parque Centrale, site of another symbolic speech on this three day historic trip.
It means nobody, apart from those who live in the old city, will get to see anything other than his lengthy convoy speeding down the ocean hugging boulevard, the Malecon.
His speech, scheduled for just after 10am, is at the Gran Teatro de la Habana will be made in front of an audience of 1,000 invitees.
1.29pm GMT
13:29
Welcome to our rolling coverage of Barack Obama’s second day in Cuba, a historic trip that was cast into shadow Tuesday morning by a series of explosions in Brussels that have left more than two dozen people confirmed dead.
The president will speak on the explosions, at least one caused by a suicide bomber, at about 10am ET, White House officials said.
His remarks will be part of a longer, previously planned speech to the Cuban people at el Gran Teatro, a colonial-era theater that stands by the capitol building. Obama will then meet dissidents and local leaders at the new US embassy.
This afternoon, Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro will attend an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team. On Monday Castro and Obama held the first bilateral talks between an American and Cuban president since revolutionaries took over the island in 1959, and at a press conference afterward Obama vowed an end to the US trade embargo.
At the same conference, Castro demanded the return of Guantánamo Bay and angrily defended Cuba’s record on human rights, denying the existence of political prisoners and criticizing the US for its lack of healthcare, education and equal pay. Obama was pressed by reporters – and by Cuban activists – to criticize the Castro regime for its repression of speech and other freedoms.
A bit of baseball diplomacy is expected at Tuesday’s game: not only will secretary of state John Kerry and American and Cuban diplomats attend, but Colombian and Farc negotiators are expected in the stands. The US and Cuba have been working to broker a peace between Bogotá and the Farc rebels, who have waged a 50-year war in Colombia and are on the US list of terror groups.
Finally, Obama will depart Cuba at about 4pm ET, ending the first visit by a US president to the island since Calvin Coolidge sailed there by battleship in 1928 and hailed the young country: “Today Cuba is her own sovereign. Her people are independent, free, and prosperous, peaceful, and enjoying the advantages of self-government.”
Related: 'Born to play': Cuba sees exodus of baseball talent as MLB comes knocking