President Obama responds to Baltimore Post-Examiner’s Bill Hughes’ Cuba report

After Bill Hughes reported on his trip to Cuba for the Baltimore Post-Examiner, he received a letter from the White House.

Dear Bill:

Thank you for writing. The best way to advance our Nation’s interests and values is through open engagement rather than isolation. That is why after more than half a century, the United States is changing its relationship with the people of Cuba and working toward normalizing relations between our two countries.

After decades of isolation failed to produce meaningful change, I traveled to Cuba to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas and to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people. By charting a new course, my Administration is reaffirming our commitment to promoting the emergence of a more prosperous Cuba that respects the universal rights of all its citizens. To achieve this, the United States is taking steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to and from Cuba. We also reestablished diplomatic relations with the Cuban Government—including opening an Embassy in Havana—and I’ve called on Congress to do their part and lift the embargo that is a legacy of a failed policy. Nobody represents America’s values better than the American people, and I believe this contact will ultimately serve to empower our Cuban neighbors.

Again, thank you for writing. We must create more opportunities and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas. By choosing to cut loose the shackles of the past, we can reach for a brighter future—for the Cuban people, for the American people, and for the world our children will inherit. To learn more, visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/Cuba.

Sincerely,
Barack Obama

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