© moldnews.mdCuba comes in from the cold.
The US and Cuba have begun a new era of relations after diplomatic ties were formally restored on Monday more than 50 years after they were severed at the height of the Cold War. The two nations re-established embassies in each other's respective capitals at midnight after a breakthrough announcement by US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on 17 December.
A symbolic event will see the raising of the Cuban flag for the first time in 54 years over a mansion that will serve as Havana's embassy in Washington later on Monday. That will be followed by a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Bruno Rodriguez - the first Cuban foreign minister to pay an official visit to Washington since the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
The US Embassy in Havana will also reopen at the same time, but an American flag will not be flown until Mr Kerry visits in August. The move follows more than two years of negotiations between the two governments and marks a new chapter in relations which were severed in 1961. A US economic embargo against Cuba will remain in place and can only be lifted by Congress.
Workers were expected to hang the Cuban flag in the State Department lobby on Monday alongside other nations with which the US has diplomatic relations. Disputes over claims for economic reparations, the end of the trade embargo and human rights concerns remain under discussion. Republican presidential candidates have vowed not to repeal the embargo and have threatened to roll back Mr Obama's promotion of closer ties between the two countries.
In May, the US removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and both countries agreed to re-establish full relations on 1 July. It comes after cruise firm Carnival announced it would begin "cultural" breaks to Cuba from May.
Relations between America and Cuba began to deteriorate after the 1959 Cuban Revolution overthrew the Batista government. After the communist government began nationalising US industries, America responded by banning exports to the island and halting the supply of oil.
The move pushed Cuba towards consolidating its trade relations with the former Soviet Union, which culminated in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba which sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Comment: According to reports, trade ties will continue to be limited until Congress lifts the trade embargo, not likely before 2018, however ties will resume under the auspices of humanitarian assistance and travel. It remains to be seen if the upcoming American acceptance and influence provides a shake-up to "reforming" the current Communist regime and if this resumption of relations provides Obama with the important self-serving "legacy" bullet point for his otherwise dismal administrative record. Time will tell: good thing, bad thing. Also, consider the context of North American Region, the order unfolding.