Obama and Castro hail historic breakthrough for US-Cuba relations - as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2014/dec/17/alan-gross-cuba-prisoner-freed-obama

Version 0 of 1.

4.19pm ET21:19

Summary

We’re going to wrap our live coverage of the prisoner exchange and remarkable rapprochement between the US and Cuba after 50 years of animosity and embargo.

Updated at 4.34pm ET

4.15pm ET21:15

Visibly moved and grateful, Alan Gross urged the US and Cuba to end their mutually “belligerent policies”.

4.05pm ET21:05

How does a new era of US-Cuban relations affect the average American?

My colleague Amanda Holpuch (@holpuch) has written a handy guide to answer that very question, including the important questions such as “Can you go to Cuba?”

“Not as a tourist,” she says.

Travel rights are being expanded for the 12 categories of people who could already travel to Cuba with either a general or specific license. Now, people visiting family, traveling for school, journalism, research, humanitarian projects and other reasons covered under those categories only need to acquire a general license, which does not require permission or advance notification to US officials.

However, if you want to go just to be a tourist, the previous restrictions remain in place. That means getting to Cuba in the same way people have been for the past few decades – by traveling through a different country. Of course, that’s illegal.

But what if you do get into Cuba? What can you bring back?

US travelers who acquire one of the two licenses required for travel can now import $400 worth of goods from Cuba – no more than $100 of which can be alcohol and tobacco products, combined. Previously, no goods of Cuban origin could be brought into the US. If you go without one of the licenses, you cannot bring back anything.

You can read Amanda’s full piece here.

3.57pm ET20:57

“The benefactors of President Obama’s ill-advised move will be the heinous Castro brothers,” writes Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, brother of former president George W, and possible presidential contender in 2016.

Bush has released a statement expressing how “delighted” he is about Alan Gross’ release and how utterly appalled he is by diplomacy with Cuba.

The Obama administration’s decision to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba is the latest foreign policy misstep by this president, and another dramatic overreach of his executive authority. It undermines America’s credibility and undermines the quest for a free and democratic Cuba.

The benefactors of President Obama’s ill-advised move will be the heinous Castro brothers who have oppressed the Cuban people for decades.

I am delighted that Alan Gross has been released. It will be a joy and relief for his wife and family to have him home this Hanukkah season. He is innocent and should never have been in prison in the first place, nor spent five long years there as he suffered in poor health. It is, however, unfortunate that the United States chose to release three convicted spies.

You can read his full statement here.

3.47pm ET20:47

A unilateral, indefinite ceasefire has been declared by Farc – the Colombian rebel group with which Cuba has been critical in mediating talks.

In recent years the group has declared ceasefires around the holidays, but never with the phrase “that should turn into an armistice” included in the press release.

We don’t know whether the breakthrough in US talks somehow caused a diplomatic ripple that affected negotiations with Farc, but journalist Daniel Coronell writes “there are no coincidences. This release by Farc was made today in Havana, Cuba.”

No hay coincidencias. El comunicado de las FARC está fechado hoy en La Habana, Cuba http://t.co/b1pOFe3qan

The Farc press release was indeed written in Cuba, according to the Spanish version of the statement. Cuba has mediated talks between Colombia’s government and Farc for years; Farc says that the ceasefire will take effect on 20 December.

The statement says that “the coming months are essential for peace and reconciliation in Colombia.”

You can read the full statement here (Spanish) and an abbreviated English version here.

Updated at 4.04pm ET

3.25pm ET20:25

Summary

A summary of the key developments so far.

Updated at 4.19pm ET

3.10pm ET20:10

Q: What would President Obama say today to President Kennedy, who initiated these policies?

Earnest: “I think even President Kennedy would acknowledge … that change was neeed. Certainly throughout his public service President Kennedy was somebody who did believe in openness and engagement.”

He says Kennedy would have supported people’s rights to self-determination and personal freedoms.

Kennedy’s foreign policy legacy, which includes heightened intervention in Vietnam and the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, is controversial among historians – but Earnest did earlier admit in the briefing: “I’m no scholar.”

Updated at 3.25pm ET

3.06pm ET20:06

Asked about the ambassadorship that would come with a restored Havana embassy, Earnest cracks “well it’s sure to be an interesting job.”

He also doesn’t back down from an apparently very real possibility of President Obama making a trip to Cuba:

“It is not unprecedented for the president of the United States to travel to countries where we have major concerns about their respect for human rights. In those conversations the president brought up with leaders their failure to do as much as we believe they should to respect … freedoms as much as they should.”

Updated at 3.25pm ET

3.04pm ET20:04

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, also welcomes today’s news.

“We see this as a step in the right direction,” state-news outlet Interfax quotes Ryabkov.

Naturally, Ryabkov spins the news into a omment about the sanctions placed on his own country by the US: “We do not believe that imposing sanctions by the US on whatever country has legitimate basis and legal grounds.”

Russia’s economy is currently reeling from a plummeting rouble and haphazard attempts by the Kremlin to stop capital flight and the depreciation of its currency.

Updated at 3.26pm ET

2.57pm ET19:57

A reporter asks Earnest whether Castro made any specific guarantees to Obama about increasing freedoms or democratic reforms. Her question boils down to whether the White House is acting on faith with Raul Castro and the Cuban government.

Earnest: “The policy that the president believes is in the best interests of our economy, in the best interests of our national security, and that will empower the Cuban people.”

“Frankly it doesn’t hinge upon the trustworthiness of the Cuban leader.

“What we have confidence in is that that policy that we have announced today will put pressure on the Castro regime to protect and respect the kind of human rights that under the old policy they repeatedly ignored.

“We already have seen the Cuban regime take more steps in the last day than we have in the last 50 years.”

He says today’s changes will “remove the distraction of the failed US policy”.

Updated at 3.26pm ET

2.51pm ET19:51

A highlight reel of President Obama’s historic speech announcing the greatest thaw of US-Cuban relations in decades, courtesy the Guardian’s video team.

2.47pm ET19:47

Earnest is correct that many Europeans support reconciliation between the US and Cuba, even if they have an odd way of expressing it.

Cuba: Le coup de génie de Barack #Obama qui entre ainsi dans l'histoire. Il était temps. http://t.co/z9viEC1vN3 #cuba pic.twitter.com/IkZjdyYUew

French journalist Frederic Martel translated: “This genius move by Barack Obama assures his place in history. It’s about time.”

2.43pm ET19:43

A reporter asks why the administration thinks sanctions would work on Russia but not on Cuba.

Earnest tries to counter by reneging somewhat on his “look at history” approach, saying that we should take each nation on a case-by-case basis.

He concedes that while sanctions have weakened the economy, “we haven’t seen the changes” in Kremlin decision-making “that we would have liked to seen.”

Finally Earnest finds a way out of the trap set for him: “Here’s the difference, the sanctions regime on Cuba has been unilateral! We’re the only country in the world with this!”

He says that because it’s only been a year, and because the EU and others stand with the US in placing punitive sanctions on Russia, do the policies and nations represent very different case studies.

Updated at 3.26pm ET

2.40pm ET19:40

Asked about what has Cuba done to show it’s willingness to change Earnest lists three things: the release of political prisoners, internet and telecom access, and a commitment to international groups.

These were names that were provided by the US government,” he says; some have already been released and some will be released in the next few days. Fifty-three prisoners were named on that list.

“There will be more pressure on the Cuban regime brought to bear that will force them to better respect human rights.”

Earnest also points out that the Obama recently visited China and Burma, who have far from spotless records on human rights.

Updated at 3.26pm ET

2.31pm ET19:31

Openness with Cuba will both “empower the Cuban people” and be a boon for American business, Earnest says.

“We will see greater economic engagement between the United States and Cuba.”

The US Department of Commerce “certainly believes” this will have a good impact, Earnest says. He quotes Penny Pritzker, the commerce secretary, from her statement, which for simplicity’s sake you can read an excerpt of here:

These historic actions by the President chart a new course for our country’s relationship with Cuba and its people. It will improve the lives of millions and will help spur long overdue economic and political reform across the country. Expanding economic engagement between the Cuban people and the American business community will be a powerful catalyst that will strengthen human rights and the rule of law.

Today’s action by the President represents a powerful step forward to increase human connection and entrepreneurial activity.

I look forward to visiting Cuba to lead our efforts to expand our commercial diplomacy as part of the President’s initiative to encourage positive change in Cuba.”’

Earnest adds that President Obama was very happy to get to speak with Alan Gross this morning on the phone.

• This post was amended on 25 December to correct the name of the US Department of Commerce. An earlier version referred to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Updated at 9.04am ET

2.26pm ET19:26

A reporter asks Earnest about whether the next president could simply undo these actions: close the embassy, restrict travel, etc.

Earnest: “I guess as a legal matter that is true. I suspect however, it’s hard to imagine, that anyone’s going to campaign for this office saying, ‘You know that policy we had in place for five decades and didn’t do anything? We’re going to do that!’”

A reporter shoots back that Jeb Bush has said something along those lines.

Earnest: “I recognized that’s very popular with some very committed people … I certainly respect their views. But I think any cold-eyed assessment … would acknowledge that that policy did not succeed. Since that policy the Castro regime has contineud to exist … continued to trample” simple freedoms, Earnest continues.

2.23pm ET19:23

“I wouldn’t rule out a presidential visit” to Havana, Earnest says when asked about whether Obama could make a trip to Cuba.

He beats around the proverbial bush: “The president did hint that senior government officials will carry out the kind of work that’s indicative of two nations.”

“Like many Americans he has seen that Cuba is a place where they have a beautiful climate and a lot of fun things to do. So if there’s an opportunity to visit I’m sure he wouldn’t turn it down, how about that?”

2.22pm ET19:22

The US-Cuban spy swap is “consistent” with exchanges the US has made over many years, White House spokesman Josh Earnest tells reporters at a press briefing.

Earnest deflects questions about when the spy provided information, or about what intelligence exactly was provided. He says the spy is “on American soil” and a “legitimate hero”.

He adds that he’s probably “the highest valued Cuban intelligence asset in US history”.

2.10pm ET19:10

Finally, Gross makes a personal appeal to the press: “I hope you respect my wishes for complete and total privacy. Claro?”

“Freedom is not free,” he says, adding that his lawyer, family and supporters personify that idea.

“We must never forget the two pillars of Moses’ covenant, freedom and responsibility. … I am blessed finally to have the freedom to lead a productive life.

“I’ll close with a quote from a Nelson DeMille character: ‘It’s good to be home.’”

And with one last thank you he takes exits off stage right.

Updated at 3.27pm ET

2.09pm ET19:09

“Ultimately my release came from the Oval Office,” Gross continues, saying he does not envy Barack Obama in the slightest.

“Five years of isolation notwithstanding, I did not need daily briefings to be cognizant of the undoubtedly incredible challenges facing our nation and the international community.

“I also want to express my utmost respect and admiration for the people of Cuba. In no way are ordinary Cubans responsible for [my imprisonment or condition].

““To me, Cubanos, or at least most of them, are incredibly kind, generous and talented. It pains me to see them treated [so poorly] by two governments.

Gross says “such belligerence” cannot solve anything: “two wrongs don’t make a right. I truly hope we can get beyond these belligerent policies.”

He says he enjoyed sitting next to secretary of state John Kerry “as he learned his job description for the next few years”.

“But in all seriousness, this is a game changer which I fully support.”

Updated at 3.54pm ET

2.03pm ET19:03

Alan Gross: 'the best Hanukkah I'll be celebrating'

Gross begins speaking to reporters:

This is great … happy holiday season to all of you, today is the first day of Hanukkah, and I guess it’s the best Hanukkah I’ll be celebrating””

“Thank you President Obama for everything you’ve done. Today and before.

“I want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of my wife Judy. For 44 and a half years we’ve been married and my lawyer and personal Moses is Scott Gilten, and their efforst to restore my freedom. They have my gratitude and respect.”

He thanks his wife and lawyer for their “relentless efforts”, as well as Senator Patrick Leahy and members of Congress.

“It was crucial to my survival knowing I was not forgotten.”

Updated at 2.32pm ET

1.58pm ET18:58

Alan Gross is due to speak in about five minutes – a US representative tells us that he’s lost about five teeth and suffered a number of health issues recently.

Meanwhile Canada also sends its congratulations, and says a bit more about its role in the secret talks between the US and Cuba, has also sent its congratulations. Prime minister Stephen Harper said in a statement that he supports a future Cuba that “fully embraces freedom and the rule of law”.

Harper also said that Canada’s role as host for secret talks “allowed the two nations the discretion they required”.

Ben Rhodes, US deputy national security adviser, and Ricardo Zuniga, the top Latin American specialist on the National Security Council, both took part in the Canada talks. Cuba has not said who it sent to the meetings.

1.49pm ET18:49

Havana and Miami – fewer than 200 miles away but worlds apart.

Our cameraman witnessed Cubans crying as they heard US-#Cuba announcement.

"Church bells are ringing throughout Havana. I've never seen anything like it." -- CNN's reporter in Cuba.

Probably more media than Cuban exiles at Cafe Versailles in Miami's Little Havana pic.twitter.com/ifSaRQlYoU

More placard-carrying protesters showing up at Cafe Versailles as passions get aroused pic.twitter.com/wOujgmDgE9

Updated at 1.49pm ET

1.43pm ET18:43

The US Speaker of the House, the Republican John Boehner, says “relations with the Castro regime should not be revisited, let alone normalized”, in a statement just released from his office.

Relations with the Castro regime should not be revisited, let alone normalized, until the Cuban people enjoy freedom – and not one second sooner. There is no ‘new course’ here, only another in a long line of mindless concessions to a dictatorship that brutalizes its people and schemes with our enemies.

“If anything, this emboldens all state sponsors of terrorism, as they now have an even better idea of what the president meant when he once told Russian leaders he would have ‘more flexibility’ after his re-election.

“We have seen this before, and I fear we will see it again. Despite these reservations about the president’s changes in our policy toward this communist regime, we all feel great joy and relief for Alan Gross and his family.

“Americans do not forget our own, and we speak out today because we have a moral responsibility not to forget anyone anywhere who longs for liberty and dignity.”

Boehner, Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Lindsay Graham and Democrat Bob Menendez have all indicated they will try to block a push to lift the embargo on Cuba.

1.39pm ET18:39

Pope Francis has congratulated the US and Cuba in a statement from the Vatican, which also reveals the seat of Catholicism hosted talks between the nations. The statement reads:

The Holy Father wishes to express his warm congratulations for the historic decision taken by the Governments of the United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic relations, with the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history.

In recent months, Pope Francis wrote letters to the President of the Republic of Cuba, His Excellency Mr Raúl Castro, and the President of the United States, The Honorable Barack H Obama, and invited them to resolve humanitarian questions of common interest, including the situation of certain prisoners, in order to initiate a new phase in relations between the two Parties.

The Holy See received Delegations of the two countries in the Vatican last October and provided its good offices to facilitate a constructive dialogue on delicate matters, resulting in solutions acceptable to both Parties.

The Holy See will continue to assure its support for initiatives which both nations will undertake to strengthen their bilateral relations and promote the wellbeing of their respective citizens.

Updated at 1.43pm ET

1.31pm ET18:31

The release of a Cuban spy today represents a “fitting closure to this Cold World chapter of US-Cuban relations,” says James Clapper, US director of national intelligence in a statement.

Today, the United States secured the release of a Cuban individual from a Cuban prison who provided critical assistance to the United States. Information provided by this person was instrumental in the identification and disruption of several Cuban intelligence operatives in the United States and ultimately led to a series of successful federal espionage prosecutions.

This man, whose sacrifices were known only to a few, has spent nearly 20 years in a Cuban prison due to his efforts on behalf of the United States. While many details of this individual’s cooperation remain classified, with his release today we can now discuss some of his contributions to U.S. national security.

Clapper says the spy provided information that to the conviction of former intelligence analyst Ana Belen Montes, State Department official Walter Myers and Gwendolyn Myers, and the five members of the Wasp Network, three of whom were released today.

In light of his sacrifice on behalf of the United States, securing his release from prison after 20 years – in a swap for three of the Cuban spies he helped put behind bars – is fitting closure to this Cold World chapter of US-Cuban relations.

You can read the full statement here.

1.24pm ET18:24

“We must learn the art of coexisting with our differences in a civilized manner,” Cuban President Raul Castro told his nation and Americans just an hour ago today, and we can know read a full transcript of his speech thanks to a new translation.

The transcript shows that Castro thanked Canada, the Vatican and the Cuban people for having achieved today’s steps. The speech reads in part:

The heroic Cuban people, in the wake of serious dangers, aggressions, adversities and sacrifices has proven to be faithful and will continue to be faithful to our ideals of independence and social justice. Strongly united throughout these 56 years of Revolution, we have kept our unswerving loyalty to those who died in defense of our principles since the beginning of our independence wars in 1868.

Today, despite the difficulties, we have embarked on the task of updating our economic model in order to build a prosperous and sustainable Socialism.

As a result of a dialogue at the highest level, which included a phone conversation I had yesterday with President Obama, we have been able to make headway in the solution of some topics of mutual interest for both nations.

President Obama’s decision deserves the respect and acknowledgement of our people.

While acknowledging our profound differences, particularly on issues related to national sovereignty, democracy, human rights and foreign policy, I reaffirm our willingness to dialogue on all these issues.

You can read the full speech here as a Google Doc.

1.17pm ET18:17

Pope Francis and Vatican diplomats worked to restore US and Cuban relations for more than a year, the Guardian’s John Hooper writes in a dispatch from Rome.

Accounts of the talks in Rome raised the question of whether this was a largely personal initiative by pope Francis, who has a record of by-passing the Holy See’s administrative machinery. But an informed source said Vatican diplomats had been working towards a re-establishment of relations between the US and Cuba for more than a year before the pope sent his letter to the two countries’ leaders.

The pope is said by sources close to the Vatican to hold the archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, in high regard and according to Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, the archbishop played a role in Alan Gross’s release.

Francis has twice this year had meetings in the Vatican with Ortega – on 5 April and again on 3 October. But most intriguing is a special appointment he conferred on the archbishop last summer.

Secretary of state John Kerry met with Vatican diplomats on Monday, which the papal state said mostly focused on efforts to close the US prison of Guantánamo Bay, also on Cuba.

1.10pm ET18:10

The large Cuban population in Miami is “very unhappy with today’s developments”, Richard Luscombe writes from Florida.

A voluble and influential community there holds sway, and the state is perpetually a deciding factor in US presidential elections. While many in the younger generation of Cuban Americans support reconciliation, older Cuban Americans, some exiles and some with family who have bitter memories of the Castros, are voicing outrage.

City of Miami mayor Tomas Regalado, himself a Cuban exile "very sad" at today's developments #cuba pic.twitter.com/GwxAvFxlvT

For former governor Jeb Bush, a Republican interested in the 2016 presidency, the restoration of relations represents a major challenge. He called for the embargo to be strengthened on Tuesday in front of a group of Cuban exiles.

Marco Rubio, a Republican senator also looking at a run in 2016, immediately lambasted the president and reconciliation as a “failed attempt … to appease [a] rogue regime”.

But the generational shift may be too potent: besides changing attitudes among younger people, Hispanic Americans are increasingly of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, and like young Cuban Americans have little stake in the embargo.

The New York Times has published a long analysis of what this could mean in Florida, pointing out that Hillary Clinton may face the toughtest challenge.

Ana M. Carbonell, a Cuban-American Republican strategist in South Florida, said Mr. Obama’s move would place pressure on Hillary Rodham Clinton. “She’s going to have to make a serious evaluation about this and decide which side of history she wants to be on,” Ms. Carbonell said. Should Mrs. Clinton run for president, she said, her chances of winning Florida will suffer “unless she distances herself from this decision”

12.57pm ET17:57

Summary

A summary of the key developments so far.

Updated at 1.03pm ET

12.45pm ET17:45

More has changed in Cuba – from car imports to baseball and travel – than in the US, the Guardian’s Jonathan Watts explains in a brief analysis of today’s news.

Raul Castro has showed pragmatism in introducing market reforms and greater openness after taking the mantle of the socialist state from his brother.

Much like the way China transformed itself after the death of Mao Zedong, Cuba has encouraged private enterprise to flourish by granting licenses for hundreds of new types of business. The streets of Havana are now filled with “paladar” restaurants and clothing shops and boarding houses that would not have been permitted five years ago.

Farmers are permitted to buy their own supplies and lease unused state land. Controls on car imports have been eased. The labour market has also been loosened with a lifting of salary caps for workers, most notably in baseball - the sport that is loved with a passion on both sides of the border. Another big recent change was that Cuban TV stations were allowed to broadcast US Major League games.

Castro has also relaxed overseas travel so that more Cubans can leave without an exit visa. Computer and cell phone use is no longer illegal, prompting the spread - though still very limited - of internet rooms.

The US government meanwhile has come under intense pressure to ease the embargo it put in place during the height of the Cold War. At the United Nations, 188 nations, including every EU state, voted for the sanctions to be lifted. Regional organisations also repeat this message at every possible opportunity.

But recently, US leaders felt this external opprobrium was easier to bear than the domestic political cost of upsetting the anti-Cuba lobby in Florida. Now, however, the calculation has changed.

12.37pm ET17:37

“This gives people hope of a new life in the new year,” an English teacher in Havana tells the Guardian’s Jonathan Watts.

The speeches by Raul Castro and Barack Obama were broadcast live on all channels in Havana. After watching, Frank Reyes, an English teacher expressed optimism about the changes that will follow:

“This gives people hope of a new life in the new year. I’m very happy. I was sure things would change, but I’m not young and sometimes I doubted that I’d see this day. Now my family and friends can start a new era. Little by little the door is opening. The US has been punishing the Cuban people for many years with its bad policy, but things will now change. We are neighbours. Now we can be friends. “

His 38-year-old son Fabian, the manager of a duty free store was just as upbeat.

“My whole life has been under the embargo. Now my life will change. Everything will change. This is the biggest step since the embargo was put in place in 1961. I’m happy. Life should get better.”

Updated at 12.47pm ET

12.27pm ET17:27

The Guardian’s Jonathan Watts continues to interview Cubans reacting to the huge changes in US relations.

Reflecting continuing anxiety about saying the wrong thing in a nation with an often repressive record, some Cubans would only speak anonymously.

One man, who has family connections with senior politicians, said he was optimistic that today’s developments would herald a major change in relations.

“For Cubans, this news is a big step forward. We are very optimistic about the consequences of this negotiation , especially for the economy of Cuba and the end of the blockade, which is so damaging to us,” he said.

12.24pm ET17:24

Raul Castro: 'the embargo must end'

While Obama spoke, Raul gave a relatively brief address, which started with the announcement that the Miami three agents had been released – Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, and Ramón Labañino. “As Fidel said in July 2001 – they will return,” Castro said.

Castro said that he had spoken to Secretary Kerry about normalizing relations between the two country, adding that President Obama’s decision deserved “respect and gratitude.” He also thanked the Vatican, Pope Francis and Canada for their support in the process.

But he stressed there was still much work to be done: the US economic blockade remains in place, he said, causing “enormous damage to our people. It must end.”

Acknowledging that the blockade is established in law, Castro said that president Obama could modify its application, and he called on the US government to adopt measures which will benefit both countries.

“Recognizing that we have many fundamental differences on the subjects of national soveignty, democracy, human rights and foreign policy, we reaffirm our willingness discuss all of these subjects.”

Castro called on the US government to remove the obstacles between the countries, dividing families – specifically he called for the re-establishment of direct flights, postal deliveries and telecommunications.

“The progress we have already made shows that it is possible to find solutions to our problems,” he said

Castro also said that Cuba had freed Gross for “humanitarian reasons”.

Updated at 12.50pm ET

12.17pm ET17:17

Obama stresses that today’s changes are only a few steps: “I’m under no illusion about the continued barriers to freedom that remain for various Cubans.”

“The US government believes that no Cubans should be subjected to arrest or beatings simply [for their beliefs]. Cuban workers should be free to form unions”

“It does not serve America’s interest or the Cuban people to try to push the Cuban government to collapse. … [we know that it’s more likely to achieve] lasting transformation if their people are not subjected to chaos.”

“We can never erase the history,” Obama goes on, but the US and Cuba can move forward.

“Cubans have a saying, ‘No es facil’: it’s not easy, but today the United States wants to be a partner in making the lives of ordinary Cubans a little bit easier, more free, more prosperous.

“In particular I want to thank his holiness Pope Francis, for [trying to make the world] as it should be, rather than as it is.”

He also thanks his State Department team and diplomatic players who were involved.

“Todos somos Americanos … Today America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past. For the Cuban people, for the American people, for the hemisphere and for the world.”

Updated at 12.39pm ET

12.15pm ET17:15

Obama is now running through the policy changes he has instructed, including the immediate review of Cuba’s designation as a sponsor of terror, eased travel restrictions and greater access to technology.

About the embargo he is clear that he cannot change much. “The embargo that has been imposed for decades is codified in legislation.”

“I look forward to engaging Congress in an honest and serious debate about lifting the embargo.”

“Yesterday I spoke with Raul Castro to finalize Alan Gross’ release and the exchange of prisoners. We welcome Cuba’s decision to release a number of prisoners whose cases were directly raised with the Cuban government by my team.”

“We welcome the decision to increase access to the internet.”

“I’m not expecting transformation of Cuban society overnight [but] we can’t keep doing the same thing for five decades and expect a different result.”

Updated at 12.46pm ET

12.10pm ET17:10

“Proudly the United States has supported human rights,” Obama continues, and then begins to talk about sanctions and why the US placed an embargo on Cuba.

“Though this policy has been rooted in the best of intentions, no other nation has joined us in these sanctions, and it has had little effect besides giving the Cuban government rationale.”

Obama points out that US restored relations with China decades ago. “We’ve had relations with China, a far larger county also [governed] by a communist government.”

“Cuban Americans are reunited with their families and are the best possible ambassadors for our values.”

He says that “the wrongful imprisonment in Cuba of a US citizen and USAID contractor, Alan Gross” prevented the US from committing to rapprochement.

“His holiness Pope Francis issued a personal appeal to me and to Raul Castro” to secure Gross’ release, Obama says. He repeats the rationale of “humanitarian grounds” and also mentions the second, non-American intelligence agent whom Cuba freed this morning.

“Imprisoned for nearly two decades, this man, whose sacrifice has been known for only a few, provided the information that allowed the US to arrest the Cuban agents. This man is now safely on our shores.”

12.08pm ET17:08

Obama: 'a new chapter among the Americas'

Speaking from the White House, President Obama begins his remarks: “We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests

“These changes will … begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas.”

“There’s a complicated history between the US and Cuba … I was born in 1961, just two years afetr Fidel Castro took power, and just months after the Bay of Pigs … We’re separated by just over 90 miles.”

“All of this bound America and Cuba in a unique relationship, as both family and foe.”

Updated at 12.33pm ET

11.49am ET16:49

The three newly freed members of the Cuban Five have been in prison for more than 15 years, technically convicted of “conspiracy to act as non-registered foreign agents”.

Two of those men’s wives, Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez, have been advocating for their husbands’ release for years, and spoke with Duncan Campbell for the Guardian about the case in 2006.

“They give us different arguments every time as to why they will not give us a visa,” says Perez, 38. “They have alleged that we may be a threat to the security of the US or they say that we might be meeting terrorist organisations on US territory. Or they say that I am a potential immigrant, so I can’t enter the country. It changes every time. In Olga’s case, she was deported from the US when her husband was arrested and so they say she will never be eligible for a visa. What it means is that our husbands are serving an additional sentence in that they are not allowed to see us. And for Gerardo and me, it is like a life sentence. It is a form of psychological torture.”

While it would be impossible to be unaware of the case in Cuba, where massive roadside billboards of the men are part of the landscape, the case has received remarkably little coverage in the US, although there are support groups there, the most active of which are in San Francisco. “We have come up against a wall of silence in America,” says Salanueva. “It is very difficult getting the information out, so people really don’t know anything about it.”

“We do not have great hopes in a change of power,” says Perez. “There have been many changes of administration in the United States over the years but the attitude towards Cuba has always remained the same.”

You can read the full interview with Salanueva and Perez here.

Updated at 11.51am ET

11.39am ET16:39

Obama and Raul Castro had a historic phone call yesterday, the Guardian’s Dan Roberts (@robertsdan) relays from Washington, writing about what he’s heard from a senior administration official.

The talk was the first call between American and Cuban presidents since the Cuban revolution ended in 1959.

Obama and Castro also shook hands at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela last year, an brief meeting that has taken on larger symbolic resonance in retrospect.

The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent Jonathan Watts wrote an analysis at the time, detailing how Cuba has slowly opened in recent years and the US turned toward its neighbor:

This was the closest that leaders from the two countries had come in more than 10 years. For many it matched the mood of the moment. What better way to respect the legacy of Mandela than to open a new chapter of rapprochement at the ceremony for him?

The Cuban government certainly seemed to think so. In a statement, it said the handshake may show the “beginning of the end of US aggressions”.

Castro has recently introduced several significant reforms that indicate that his government is moving towards a gradual opening up, like China.

Overseas travel restrictions were eased last year to allow many Cubans to leave without an exit visa. Computer and cell phone use is now legalised, and this year the government announced the opening of 118 “internet rooms”. Despite the high expense for most Cubans, connection speeds that are low and home internet access still being forbidden, the moves represent an opening of information and cultural channels that were previously tightly closed.

Even baseball, the country’s favourite sport, is showing signs of change. For the first time this year state TV channels started showing US Major League games. These days in Havana you are more likely to see a New York Yankees baseball cap than the green military kepi made famous by Fidel Castro.

Updated at 4.05pm ET

11.35am ET16:35

Senator Flake, who flew with a number of members of Congress to bring Alan Gross home, documented the journey from its start.

Alan and Judy Gross. Together again. Just before leaving Cuba this morning. #alangross pic.twitter.com/cdIlIkYfF3

Updated at 11.35am ET

11.28am ET16:28

With his family at the scene, Alan Gross arrives to a happy reunion, with a photo from Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.

Alan Gross. Back on U.S. soil. pic.twitter.com/Ut5jvdQGg2

Updated at 11.33am ET

11.27am ET16:27

“This does not have to be a relationship that is frozen in time, an Obama administration official has told the Times’ Ernesto Londoño.

The kicker, as the Guardian’s Dan Roberts (@robertsdan) learned from a senior official, is that Fidel Castro was not involved in the negotiations.

Updated at 4.05pm ET

11.23am ET16:23

Alan Gross lands in US

Alan Gross has returned to US soil after about five years in a Cuban prison, CBS’ Charlie Kaye and wires report.

Updated at 2.52pm ET

11.22am ET16:22

US's "new course on Cuba"

The Obama administration has released a factsheet on its new policies, which you can read in its comprehensive entirety at this link here. For a much briefer version check out the summary below.

Diplomacy with Cuba

New regulations

Travel

Remittances

Commerce, exports and imports

Internet and technology

Even more diplomacy

11.09am ET16:09

Summary

A quick look at the key developments so far.

Updated at 11.28am ET

11.05am ET16:05

The Guardian’s Dan Roberts continues to provide backroom details of how negotiations developed – with an assist from Pope Francis.

Cuba backstory: deal brokered last spring with secret meetings in Canada & Vatican after pressure from Pope. Obama sealed w/ 45min call Tues

10.57am ET15:57

Obama does have some congressional support – high profile members of Congress are reportedly on board the flight with Gross, and some Democrats have been urging these changes for some time.

According to CBS colleague John Nolen, @SenatorLeahy @JeffFlake & @ChrisVanHollen are on board plane w/ #AlanGross heading to US

.@NitaLowey: "An improvement in the diplomatic and economic relationship between #Cuba and the #US would benefit both countries.” #AlanGross

Washington watchers are starting to gauge the wider ramifications of Obama’s foreign policy moves in the past few years.

POTUS will now have opened contacts & communications w/two of America's oldest foes #Iran and #Cuba #AlanGross

10.52am ET15:52

Cubans in Havana reacting with happiness tempered by skepticism, Jonathan Watts reports for the Guardian.

Cubans are still waiting for confirmation from their government. Many have yet to hear the news.

Frank Reyes, a teacher in Havana, was surprised and pleased to hear about the release when contacted by the Guardian.

“It sounds good, but that’s the first I have heard of it. There was nothing on the morning news. We are always the last to know because we don’t have access to a real internet service. I guess they will tell us later. We have to wait it’s not like other countries.”

As we talked, he switched to the Telesur TV channel, where a flash came up on the screen “Cuba frees Alan Gross” and a reporter said this could be a step towards the lifting of the embargo.

“That will be good,” said Reyes. “There has been a lot of pressure on the US. It may be paying off.”

In Havana, mobile phone news messaging services have sent out an alert that President Raul Castro will give a speech at noon to make an “important announcement on relations between Cuba and the United States.”

Updated at 10.56am ET

10.44am ET15:44

Republicans will not be alone in their anger at the president – some Democrats are towing an almost identical line.

Whoa, from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ): “President Obama's actions have vindicated the brutal behavior of the Cuban government.”

Obama needs Congress to make major changes to the embargo; otherwise his actions will be limited to areas of travel, some trade and points around the edges. The total could still be significant, but the embargo itself would stay in place.

10.40am ET15:40

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican from Florida and critic of the Obama administration – and a politician considering a run for president in 2016, has launched into a tirade against the president on Fox News.

“First of all we’re all glad Mr Gross will be back with his family. He’s not a spy, not a criminal, he’s a hostage. I’m not in favor of the process in which is release was acquired. It sets a dangerous precedent and puts a price on every American abroad.”

“I think they will entail things like normalized diplomatic relations and the opening of more commerce and trade with a dictatorship

“It’s absurd, and it’s part of a long record of coddling dictators and tyrants by the Obama administration.”

Rubio criticizes the administration for not getting Cuba to concede political points, like free elections.

“There is not support” [in Congress] for the embargo to be lifted. “That’s all they have to do to lift the embargo, they have to become a democracy.”

“They’re not just benign Cuban spies … these Cuban spies were involved in providing information to the Cuban government that [cost] the lives of Americans.”

“Barack Obama is the worst negotiator as president since at least Jimmy Carter.”

Updated at 10.43am ET

10.34am ET15:34

The release of Gross and apparently sweeping changes in US-Cuban relations come after months of quiet backroom talks and tacit cooperation.

CBS’s Margaret Brennan points out that rapprochement has been in the works on some level for over a year.

In 2013, Cuba helped mediate release of US hostage held by Colombia's FARC. Cuba & US also only 2 countries to send doctors to fight Ebola

The turn toward mending old bridges also follows a string of editorials in the New York Times, dating as far back as a 2012 entry titled “Release Alan Gross”.

Far more recently, the Times published “Cuba’s Economy at a Crossroads” just days ago, in October “Obama should End the Embargo on Cuba”, and in November an editorial titled “A Prisoner Swap with Cuba”. An excerpt from “End the Embargo”:

Mr. Obama should seize this opportunity to end a long era of enmity and help a population that has suffered enormously since Washington ended diplomatic relations in 1961, two years after Fidel Castro assumed power.

Cuba is building a seaport, a major project that will be economically viable only if American sanctions are lifted.

Fully ending the embargo will require Congress’s approval. But there is much more the White House could do on its own. For instance, it could lift caps on remittances, allow Americans to finance private Cuban businesses and expand opportunities for travel to the island.

It could also help American companies that are interested in developing the island’s telecommunications network but remain wary of the legal and political risks. Failing to engage with Cuba now will likely cede this market to competitors. The presidents of China and Russia traveled to Cuba in separate visits in July, and both leaders pledged to expand ties.

10.23am ET15:23

Gross’ release comes none too soon for his family, who have described his condition as worsening by the day.

“Mentally vanquished, gaunt, hobbling and missing five teeth”, are how Gross’ lawyer and relatives described him to Reuters.

The family has also told AP of their incredible relief:

Bonnie Rubinstein, Gross’ sister, heard the news from a cousin, who saw it on television.

“We’re like screaming and jumping up and down,” she said in a brief telephone interview from her home in Texas.

Updated at 10.30am ET

10.16am ET15:16

AP’s diplomatic correspondent Matt Lee has happy news for cigar connoisseurs.

What you all wanted to know: Cuban cigars now allowed into #US (albeit in small quantities) #Cuba

And the Wall Street Journal’s Natalie Andrews has slightly more expansive news.

Big deal. U.S. debit and credit cards will be allowed in Cuba -- and travel restrictions are changing. http://t.co/oSCR98DsxI

10.14am ET15:14

Cuban President Raul Castro will also speak today at 12pm ET – though limited internet on the island and a lack of Cuban TV here in the states – will mean a slight delay in delivering his remarks to you online.

Raul Castro to speak on Cuban TV 12 noon, same time as Obama. Havana says message addressed "to our people & international public" #Cuba

10.11am ET15:11

The effort to free Alan Gross has taken years and international effort, says the Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe.

JUST IN: Sen. @DickDurbin tells me that Obama administration and the Vatican worked for 1.5 years to secure Alan Gross's release.

10.09am ET15:09

Part of the deal that secured the release of Alan Gross is an exchange of three Cubans convicted of espionage in Florida in 2001, per reports from AP and CNN.

The three Cubans were among the so-called “Cuban Five” and “Wasp Network” ordered by then President Fidel Castro to spy in south Florida. Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Geurrero and Ramon Labañino – 49, 56 and 51, respectively – have been in jail since 1998.

American officials have previously accused Cuba of using Gross as a hostage, although Cuba has charged several Americans over the years with illegally promoting democracy and related offenses.

Two compatriots of the prisoners reportedly released, Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez, were previously freed after finishing their sentences.

You can read more about the Wasp Network and the “impoverished agents too tired to spy” in a report filed at the time by the Guardian’s Julian Borger.

Updated at 10.18am ET

9.59am ET14:59

President Obama hopes rapprochement with Cuba could be a Berlin Wall moment, the Guardian’s Dan Roberts (@robertsdan) writes from Washington.

Obama has been hoping that a major shift toward Cuba would become his Berlin Wall moment for some while, a desire symbolised most recently by a very public handshake with Raúl Castro at Nelson Mandela’s funeral last December.

But the ongoing imprisonment of Alan Gross was the very least of the many domestic political impediments in the way of any wider deal over trade, travel and diplomatic restrictions that have kept relations between the two countries in a Cold War deep freeze for decades.

It is is telling that the carefully orchestrated exchange of prisoners – something that must have taken months to negotiate – took place hours after US senators left Washington to go home for Christmas. It is also unthinkable that the Democratic White House would have risked such a move before November’s midterm elections, when hawks in both parties were already criticising him for similar concessions in Iran.

But the decision to attempt a complete Cuban “re-set” - to use the administration’s favoured phrase – is very much in keeping with Obama’s post-election radicalism.

It is a gamble that could backfire if relaxing the embargo does not create the desired internal pressure for reform inside Cuba, but Obama is not the only one who suspects that the existing, and very tired, US posture toward its near neighbour has long since proved past its sell-by date.

Updated at 4.05pm ET

9.55am ET14:55

The US has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba for decades, but Obama may only be able to act around the edges of its restrictions.

Obama could also announce more easing of travel to/from Cuba (as he did in his last significant shift, Jan 2011).

Obama can do a number of things to normalize relations, but needs congressional approval through the 1996 Helms Burton Act to make major changes to the embargo.

Officials admitted last week that the Obama administration had been speaking with its Cuban counterpart through various channels.

“The Cuban Government’s release of Alan on humanitarian grounds would remove an impediment to more constructive relations between the United States and Cuba,” Obama said in a statement.

9.49am ET14:49

Obama looks set to completely overhaul US policy and normalize relations with Cuba, according to officials speaking with the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) - US officials: US to start talks with Cuba to normalize full diplomatic relations, open embassy.

9.39am ET14:39

President Obama will announce a thaw of sorts in US-Cuba relations, according to a senior administration official speaking anonymously to CNN.

The official also told CNN’s Elise Labott that Gross’ release coincides with “a separate spy swap”, and Cuba’s release of a person who had been jailed for more than two decades.

“We are charting a new course toward Cuba,” the official said. “The president understood the time is right to attempt a new approach.”

What that new approach entails is already subject of speculation, but details have yet to be confirmed.

U.S. Officials tells @eliselabottcnn as part of these deal Cuba has agreed to more internet freedoms on the island

9.27am ET14:27

Cuba releases Alan Gross: US official

Alan Gross, an American imprisoned in Cuba for five years, has left the island on a US government plane and is bound for the States, a senior official in the Obama administration has confirmed to the Guardian on condition of anonymity.

Cuban authorities arrested Gross, now 65, in 2009 on suspicion of espionage and he was later convicted him for distributing banned technology and trying to set up internet service. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Gross had worked as a subcontractor for USAid and his family has campaigned the US government for years to help secure his release. His health has deteriorated substantially in recent weeks, according to ABC, which was told by his lawyer that he could barely walk and has suffered vision damage.

President Obama will make a statement at 12pm ET and is expected to deliver remarks about US-Cuba relations more broadly, stoking speculation of a dramatic change in policy toward the communist island.

Cuban president Raul Castro is also expected to speak today.

Updated at 9.32am ET