PANAMA CITY, Panama — President Barack Obama and President Raúl Castro symbolically ended more than a half-century of official estrangement between the United States...
KINGSTON, Jamaica — U.S. President Barack Obama indicated Thursday that he will announce Cuba's removal from the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism this week, a move that should quickly lead to a full restoration of diplomatic ties and the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington.
With much of Latin America struggling with slowing growth, leaders including Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff are arriving in Panama with plans to engage the U.S. more substantively than in previous years.
The Young Americas Forum, which takes place during the Summit of the Americas in Panama this week, is officially focused on entrepreneurship and economic opportunities for Latin America's youth. But Venezuelan and Cuban youth opposition leaders have a separate agenda.
While over 6 in 10 expect renewed U.S. relations to change the economic system, more than half expect the political system to remain the same. Cubans are far more upbeat about their nation's education and health-care systems, with at least two-thirds saying they are "very" or "somewhat" satisfied with each.
Yulieski Gourriel plays in the Cuban league for about $50 a month, even though he's a speedboat ride away from a $10 million-a-year Big League contract.
Issues crucial to Central America – ranging from immigration and climate change to violent crime and the region’s growing need for electricity – will also be on the agenda for the VII Summit of the Americas, to be held Apr. 10-11 in Panama City.
Granma published four photographs on its website of the 88-year-old Castro seated inside a bus or van and shaking the hands of supporters leaning in through the vehicle's windows.
In separate remarks, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf expressed skepticism that the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations may lead to the opening of embassies in Havana and Washington before next week's summit.
