President Obama stands with Cuban President Raul Castro before a bilateral meeting at the United Nations headquarters.(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)
WASHINGTON<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— President Obama said Thursday he would travel to Cuba next month "to advance our progress and efforts that can improve the lives of the Cuban people."
Obama made the trip official in a series of tweets Thursday morning, touting "significant progress" in resuming diplomatic relations with the communist nation in the 14 months since he announced the breakthrough with Cuban President Raul Castro.
"We still have differences with the Cuban government that I will raise directly. America will always stand for human rights around the world," Obama
said on Twitter.
The two-day Cuba trip will begin<span style="color: Red;">*</span>March 21, followed by another<span style="color: Red;">*</span>two-day trip to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Argentina with First Lady Michelle Obama, the White House said Thursday.
In an
interview with Yahoo News last year, Obama said he would only visit Cuba if he could say with confidence "that we're seeing some progress in the liberty and freedom and possibilities of ordinary Cubans."
USA TODAY
Obama will make historic visit to Cuba as soon as March, sources say
In an essay
posted on Medium.com Thursday, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes argued that the progress Obama wanted to see is already happening.
"Cuba’s nascent private sector?—?from restaurant owners to shopkeepers?—?has benefited from increased travel from the American people. Increased remittances to Cuba from the United States has helped Cuban families," he said. "The Cuban government has taken some steps to fulfill its commitment to expand access to the Internet, expanding wireless hotspots and announcing an initial broadband connection."
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