News / Foreign Policy

American flag raised above US embassy in Cuba

Friday, 14 August 2015 2:59 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 14 August 2015 6:14 PM ]

The US flag was raised on Friday over the American embassy in Havana, Cuba, for the first time in 54 years.

The US flag has been raised over the American embassy in Havana, Cuba, for the first time in 54 years, in a symbolic step signaling the warming of ties between both countries.

US Secretary of State John Kerry presided over the ceremony on Friday to officially reopen the US embassy in Havana.

Kerry was the first US secretary of state to visit Cuba in 70 years. The US flag was raised by the same US marines who pulled it down back in 1961.

"The leaders in Havana and the Cuban people should also know that the United States will always remain a champion of democratic principles and reforms," Kerry said during his speech.

"We remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served by a genuine democracy where people are free to choose their leaders with commitment, economic and social justice," he added.

The top American diplomat was accompanied by a number of US lawmakers and Cuban-Americans who have advocated normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with the island.

US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro announced the historic rapprochement between their two countries in December after 18 months of secret talks between officials from the two nations.

The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, two years after Raul’s older brother, Fidel Castro, came to power at the height of the Cold War.

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