Backgrounder: Brief review on U.S.-Cuba relations

A Cuban American man waits in line to check in his luggage for the next flight to Cuba at the Miami International Airport, Florida April 13, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday lifted restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to Cuba, said the White House in a statement.

    "Supporting the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their future and that of their country is in the national interest of the United States," said the statement.

    "The Obama administration is taking steps to promote greater contact between separated family members in the United States and Cuba and increase the flow of remittances and information to the Cuban people," said the statement.

    According to the statement, President Obama has directed the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce to take the needed steps to lift all restrictions on transactions related to the travel of family members to Cuba and to remove restrictions on remittances to family members in Cuba.

Cubans welcome relatives arriving from the U.S. at Havana's Jose Marti airport April 13, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The administration has been asked to authorize U.S. telecommunications network providers to enter into agreements to establish fiber-optic cable and satellite telecommunications facilities linking the United States and Cuba.

    The administration has also been asked to license U.S. telecommunications service providers to enter into roaming service agreements with Cuba's telecommunications service providers, and to license U.S. satellite radio and satellite television service providers to engage in transactions necessary to provide services to customers in the country.

    Although the easing of restriction, which would affect some 1.5million Americans with family members in Cuba, has not eliminated U.S. trade embargo against Cuba imposed 47 years ago, it has been seen as a major policy shift from the Bush administration's hawkish approach.

    Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the U.S.-Cuba relations have deteriorated with sustaining tension and confrontation. The previous U.S. administration under President George W. Bush imposed restrictions on travel and money transfers to Cuba for Cuban-Americans.

    In his campaign speech last May, Obama said he wanted to remove the restrictions so that Americans could visit relatives and transfer money to their families in Cuba, and that he would be willing to speak with Cuban leaders "without preconditions."

    On Friday, Obama will participate in the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago and discuss topics ranging from the global economic crisis to regional security with other 33 national leaders in the hemisphere.

    The issue of Cuba will likely become a topic of discussion.

U.S., Cuba set to improve ties, seek dialogue 

Cuba's President Raul Castro (R) speaks with U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee during a meeting in Havana April 6, 2009. A U.S. congressional delegation met on Monday with Castro in his first talks with U.S. officials since taking office last year - a sign that U.S.-Cuban relations may be thawing.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    HAVANA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- After half a century of ever-widening political differences, Cuba and the United States appear to have reached an opportune moment for rapprochement based on respect and mutual benefit.

    The visit by seven Democratic lawmakers from the U.S. Congress earlier this week indicated that it is possible to bring an end to the split that began when Cuba's revolution triumphed in 1959.

Cuba, U.S. move to improve ties but obstacles remain 

    HAVANA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The visit by a delegation of U.S. lawmakers to Cuba on Monday is being considered as an improvement in ties between the two countries.

    Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he and three U.S. lawmakers had a "magnificent" conversation. It was believed to be Castro's first meeting with U.S. officials in several years, according to an article published on the website of Cuba's newspaper Juventud Rebelde on Tuesday.

Fidel Castro: Cuba is not afraid to talk with U.S. 

    HAVANA, April 6 (Xinhua) - Cuban former Leader Fidel Castro said that Havana is not afraid to talk with Washington and he hailed U.S. Senator Richard Lugar's proposal to reshape U.S.- Cuba relations, local press said on Monday.

    "There is no need to emphasize what Cuba has always said: We do not fear dialogue with the United States, nor do we need confrontation to exist, as some foolish people think," Castro said in his weekly column "Reflections" published Monday by local press.