It started with a handshake between US President Barack Obama and his
Cuban counterpart Raul Castro in South Africa in 2013, then again in
Panama two years later.
This simple gesture snowballed into a number of milestones that marked the end of hostilities - spanning 11 American presidencies - between the two countries.
But US President Barack Obama will soon crown these preliminary interactions with a visit no other US president has taken while in office in almost nine decades: a trip to Cuba.
The visit is intended to cement all the steps taken to normalise relations with Cuba after five decades of estrangement.
On a 3-day landmark visit -- the first by a sitting US president in almost 90 years -- Obama will likely help change the image of the United States that several generations of Cubans have had since 1959.
On his 3-day trip to Havana, which begins on March 21, 2016 US President Barack Obama is expected to meet Raul Castro as well as Cuban entrepreneurs and community activists, announce new steps to bolster bilateral ties, attend a Major League Baseball game, and address Cubans directly. He will be joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 16 other House Democrats.
Things were very different the last time a sitting US president went to Cuba. When Calvin Coolidge visited Havana in 1928 aboard a battleship, the island was under American control. The relationship was defined by the Platt Amendment, which in exchange for the withdrawal of US troops - who remained after the Spanish-American War - effectively turned Cuba into a neo-colony.
U.S. President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha, arrives at the Jose Marti international airport in Havana, Cuba March 20, 2016
The Obamas arrive at Havana's international airport for a three-day trip, in Havana March 20, 2016.
As Air Force One touched down in Havana, the US president cheerfully
began the landmark trip by tweeting in local slang: “Que bola Cuba?” --
or “What’s up?”
Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters Sasha and Malia clutched umbrellas to shield themselves from drizzle as they descended the steps to the tarmac
Obama and his wife Michelle approach Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez (left) as they arrive at Havana's international airport for a three-day trip. They are seen taking their first step onto the communist nation's soil
U.S. President Barack Obama tours Old Havana with his family at the start of a three-day visit to Cuba, in Havana March 20, 2016
This simple gesture snowballed into a number of milestones that marked the end of hostilities - spanning 11 American presidencies - between the two countries.
But US President Barack Obama will soon crown these preliminary interactions with a visit no other US president has taken while in office in almost nine decades: a trip to Cuba.
The visit is intended to cement all the steps taken to normalise relations with Cuba after five decades of estrangement.
On a 3-day landmark visit -- the first by a sitting US president in almost 90 years -- Obama will likely help change the image of the United States that several generations of Cubans have had since 1959.
On his 3-day trip to Havana, which begins on March 21, 2016 US President Barack Obama is expected to meet Raul Castro as well as Cuban entrepreneurs and community activists, announce new steps to bolster bilateral ties, attend a Major League Baseball game, and address Cubans directly. He will be joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 16 other House Democrats.
Things were very different the last time a sitting US president went to Cuba. When Calvin Coolidge visited Havana in 1928 aboard a battleship, the island was under American control. The relationship was defined by the Platt Amendment, which in exchange for the withdrawal of US troops - who remained after the Spanish-American War - effectively turned Cuba into a neo-colony.
U.S. President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha, arrives at the Jose Marti international airport in Havana, Cuba March 20, 2016
The Obamas arrive at Havana's international airport for a three-day trip, in Havana March 20, 2016.
Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters Sasha and Malia clutched umbrellas to shield themselves from drizzle as they descended the steps to the tarmac
Obama and his wife Michelle approach Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez (left) as they arrive at Havana's international airport for a three-day trip. They are seen taking their first step onto the communist nation's soil
U.S. President Barack Obama tours Old Havana with his family at the start of a three-day visit to Cuba, in Havana March 20, 2016
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