President Obama on Historic Visit to Cuba
President Barack Obama became the first Amercian president to visit Communist Cuba since Calvin Coolidge visited the island almost 90 years ago. The historic visit to Cuba has been closely watched by media observers around the world. The first family and a delegation of business leaders accompanied the president on his two-day stay.
During his visit, Obama toured Havanna and went to an art museum. He met with Cuban President Raul Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega, who played an important role in setting up the presidential visit. At the end of his visit, the two presidents went to see a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team.
President Obama wants to establish a new diplomatic relationship with Cuba towards the end of his presidency. He has recently lifted a ban on Americans who want to travel to Cuba individually and has also allowed Cubans to use Amercian banks for financial transactions. The president stated that he wants to end the Amercian embargo on Cuba, which has been in place since the 1960s, however only Congress can lift the ban.
Cuban-Americans showed mixed feelings about President Obamas historic visit to Cuba. To many, the American president has betrayed them by visiting a country that oppressed its citizens for decades. To others, the visit was a sign that relationships between the two countries were getting normal. Political experts agree that establishing better relations with Cuba comes at the right time. Recent polls show that most Americans welcome the President's action.
In his final speech before leaving the island, Obama said that the aim of any revolution is to bring democracy to the people. Referring to human rights violations in Cuba, he said that every person has basic rights that must be respected.
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Words
- accompany = travel with
- agree = to share the same opinion
- aim = what you want to achieve
- ban = an official order that stops something from happening
- basic = most important
- betray = if you are not loyal to your country
- citizen = person who lives in a country and has rights there
- decade = ten years
- delegation = here: a group of people who have the same interests
- democracy = system of government in which people are free and elect their representatives
- embargo = to officially stop trading with another country
- establish = here : to start something
- final = last
- financial transaction = here: sending and receiving money from other banks
- first family = family of the President of the United States
- however = but
- human rights = the basic rights that everyone should have; like freedom of speech or the right to vote
- individually = on their own, not in a group
- in place = in effect; a law
- lift = end a law
- media = television, radio, newspapers and magazines
- oppress = to treat people in an unfair way and not give them basic rights
- poll = a study in which people are asked about their opinion on a certain subject
- presidency = the time during which a person is president
- recently = a short time ago
- refer to = mention , talk about
- relationship = here: the way in which two countries treat each other
- respect = something that you should accept
- set up = organise
- stay = visit
- violation = to break an agreement or a law