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Obama Hails Cuba Embassy Opening as 'New Chapter'

CBN

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It's a historic day for the United States and Cuba. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced the reopening of embassies in Washington and Havana, hailing it as the start of a "new chapter."

"Today I can announce the United States has agreed to formally establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba," the president said in the Rose Garden.

"The progress we make today is another demonstration we don't have to be imprisoned by the past," he added.

Ted Piccone, a Cuba expert at the Brookings Institution, called the news a "big milestone."

"This is the first thing we've seen since the Dec. 17 agreement that says, 'We're jointly agreeing to this step,'" he told The Wall Street Journal.

The move restores diplomatic ties that were severed more than 50 years ago. The process to normalize relations, however, has not come without criticism.

In May, the United States made the controversial move to take Cuba off its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"Cuba should not have been removed from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list since one of the many reasons for its inclusion are its links to repressive regimes around the world, such as Iran, Syria, and Russia," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said in a statement.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., agreed the move was a mistake.

"President Obama and his administration continue to give the Cuban regime concession after concession in exchange for nothing that even remotely resembles progress towards freedom and democracy for the Cuban people, or assurances that the regime will discontinue working against America's national security interests," he said.

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