President Obama announced yesterday that after 54 years diplomatic ties would begin to be rebuilt with Cuba.  This announcement came after more than a year of secret negotiations between the United States and Cuba moderated by Pope Francis.  Both President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have made public announcements welcoming the change in policy.  Through these changes President Obama pledged to “cut loose the shackles of the past” and put an end to an “outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance” US interests.

US-Cuba diplomatic relations have been nonexistent since the 1960s, and trade and travel embargoes have been in existence ever since.  Following this announcement, the United States is planning to open an embassy in Havana within the next few months.