John Kerry in Cuba

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Cuba to attend the ceremonial raising of his country’s flag at the building where the U.S. embassy has been functioning since July 20.

Author: Granma | internet@granma.cu

august 14, 2015 09:08:10

Foto: Ricardo López Hevia

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Cuba to attend the ceremonial raising of his country’s flag at the building where the U.S. embassy has been functioning since July 20, culminating a process which began last December 17, when Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama announced their intention to re-establish diplomatic relations..

Kerry was received at José Martí International Airport by Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations’ assistant protocol director Lydia González Navarro, and Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the U.S. business attaché in Cuba.

This is the first visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to the island since 1945, when Edward R. Stettinius was here, during the administration of Harry S. Truman.

An official State Department statement indicated that the delegation to the opening ceremony includes 19 individuals, among them Assistant Secretary for Western Hemispheric Affairs Roberta Jacobson; Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews; and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Sarah Bloom Raskin.

Kerry, who has visited Cuba before as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, will additionally meet Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and the two will hold a joint press conference at the Hotel Nacional.