US and Cuba meeting

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US and Cuba meeting

Summit of the Americas in Panama over the coming days. "Secretary Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez had a lengthy and very constructive discussion this evening. The two agreed they made progress and that we would continue to work to resolve outstanding issues," a senior US official said. The last comparable high-level meeting was in 1959, when Fidel Castro met then Vice-President Richard Nixon. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez have held talks, in the highest level meeting between the two countries in more than half a century.

 The two held closed-door discussions after arriving in Panama for a summit. Meanwhile, the US state department has reportedly recommended that Cuba be removed from its list of states said to sponsor terrorism. Such a move could pave the way for the two countries re-opening embassies. US President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro are also due to meet on the sidelines of the Diplomatic ties froze two years later, but last year Mr Obama announced that a "new chapter" in relations would commence.

 At the same time, Mr Obama ordered a review of Cuba's status which he now confirms has finished its work. Cuba is one of four countries still on the US list of countries accused of repeatedly supporting global terrorism; Iran, Sudan and Syria are others. It was first put on the list in 1982 for offering sanctuary to militant ETA Basque separatists and Colombian Farc rebels. 

 Removing Cuba from the list could lead to the easing of financial restrictions on Cuba's access to loans and aid. If Mr Obama opts to accept the state department's recommendations, Congress would have 45 days to decide whether to override him. He faces fierce critics of his Cuban policy at home, such as from Cuban-American Ted Cruz, who is a Republican presidential candidate. 

 The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hopes to bring a petition signed by 10 million of his citizens urging Mr Obama to remove an order imposing sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials accused of human rights abuses in an opposition crackdown. Oil-rich Venezuela has many friends at the summit and other Latin American nations have criticised the order, which calls Caracas a US national security threat. 


 President Obama has tried to reduce tensions with Venezuela ahead of the summit, saying the US did not perceive the country as a threat. But we do remain very troubled by the Venezuelan government's efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents," he told the Spanish news agency Efe.