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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| Obama hails 'new chapter' in US-Cuba ties | Obama hails 'new chapter' in US-Cuba ties |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has hailed a "new chapter" in US relations with Cuba, announcing moves to normalise diplomatic and economic ties. | US President Barack Obama has hailed a "new chapter" in US relations with Cuba, announcing moves to normalise diplomatic and economic ties. |
| Mr Obama said the plans represented the "most significant changes in US policy towards Cuba in 50 years". | Mr Obama said the plans represented the "most significant changes in US policy towards Cuba in 50 years". |
| Cuban President Raul Castro welcomed the policy shift in his own national televised address. | |
| The move includes the release of American Alan Gross by Cuba and three Cubans jailed in Florida for spying. | |
| Mr Gross arrived at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington from Cuba on Wednesday. Footage showed him disembarking from a US government plane onto the tarmac where he was met by a crowd. | Mr Gross arrived at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington from Cuba on Wednesday. Footage showed him disembarking from a US government plane onto the tarmac where he was met by a crowd. |
| The 65-year-old spent five years behind bars after being accused of subversion, while on a mission to bring internet services to Jewish community groups in Cuba. | |
| The US and Cuba say he was freed on humanitarian grounds. | |
| 'Respectful' | |
| Mr Obama announced measures that he said would end an "outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests". | |
| The US is looking to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months, he said. | |
| The plans set out in a White House statement also include: | |
| Mr Castro, said the changes were something Cuba had been pressing for for a long time. | |
| "Ever since my election... I have reiterated on many occasions our preparedness to hold a respectful dialogue with the government of the United States based on sovereign equality." | |
| Analysis: Vanessa Buschschluter, Latin America editor, BBC News online | |
| The detention of Alan Gross had for years been a major hurdle on the path to closer ties between Cuba and the US. | The detention of Alan Gross had for years been a major hurdle on the path to closer ties between Cuba and the US. |
| His release allows the US to "cut loose the anchor of the past", as the Obama administration put it. | His release allows the US to "cut loose the anchor of the past", as the Obama administration put it. |
| Washington had held out the prospect of full diplomatic ties within months, but ordinary Cubans are going to be more interested in the economic measures the US government has promised. | Washington had held out the prospect of full diplomatic ties within months, but ordinary Cubans are going to be more interested in the economic measures the US government has promised. |
| Raising remittances levels from $500 (£320) to $2,000 a quarter could make a real difference to the livings standards of those Cubans with relatives and friends living in the US. | Raising remittances levels from $500 (£320) to $2,000 a quarter could make a real difference to the livings standards of those Cubans with relatives and friends living in the US. |
| And allowing telecom firms to improve internet services in Cuba would also make a tangible change to a country which has one of the lowest rates of internet penetration in the world. | And allowing telecom firms to improve internet services in Cuba would also make a tangible change to a country which has one of the lowest rates of internet penetration in the world. |
| But Cubans critical of the government have slammed the Obama administration for "swallowing the hook" and allowing Raul Castro to score a political victory on the back of Mr Gross's years in jail. | But Cubans critical of the government have slammed the Obama administration for "swallowing the hook" and allowing Raul Castro to score a political victory on the back of Mr Gross's years in jail. |
| Mr Gross' arrest and imprisonment had undermined attempts to thaw diplomatic relations between the two countries. | |
| The three Cubans released in the US are part of the so-called "Cuban Five" convicted of spying. | The three Cubans released in the US are part of the so-called "Cuban Five" convicted of spying. |
| Prosecutors said they had sought to infiltrate US military bases and spied on Cuban exiles in Florida. | Prosecutors said they had sought to infiltrate US military bases and spied on Cuban exiles in Florida. |
| Two of them had recently been allowed to return to Cuba after finishing their sentences. | Two of them had recently been allowed to return to Cuba after finishing their sentences. |
| Key dates | Key dates |
| 1959: Fidel Castro and his guerrilla army defeat the US-backed Cuban regime of Fulgencio Batista | |
| 1960-1961: Cuba nationalises US businesses without compensation; US breaks off diplomatic relations and imposes a trade embargo in response | |
| 2001: Five Cubans, dubbed the Cuban Five, are jailed in Miami for spying | |
| 2008: Raul Castro becomes Cuban president | |
| 2009: US citizen Alan Gross detained in Cuba accused of spying | |
| 2011: One of the Cuban Five, Rene Gonzalez, is freed by the US | |
| Dec 2013: US President Barack Obama and Raul Castro shake hands at Nelson Mandela's funeral - the first such public gesture since 1959 | |
| Feb 2014: The second of the Cuban Five, Fernando Gonzalez, is freed after completing his sentence | Feb 2014: The second of the Cuban Five, Fernando Gonzalez, is freed after completing his sentence |
| 17 December 2014: Alan Gross is released by Cuba |