The United States and Cuba Announce They Will Restore Relations

On December 17, 2014, United States President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced simultaneous initiatives to restore diplomatic relations after more than five decades of hostility. The breakthrough followed months of secret negotiations encouraged by Pope Francis and hosted by Canada. The shift was accompanied by a major prisoner exchange. Cuba released United States Agency for International Development contractor Alan Gross, who had been held since 2009, alongside Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, a Cuban intelligence officer who had secretly worked for the United States and had been imprisoned in Cuba for nearly two decades. In return, the United States freed the remaining three members of the convicted intelligence network known as the Cuban Five, while the Cuban government agreed to free 53 imprisoned political dissidents.

This sudden policy shift addressed tensions dating back to the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Although terminating the comprehensive trade embargo required legislative action by the United States Congress, the Obama administration utilized executive powers to loosen rules regarding travel, banking, and commerce. Restrictions on family remittances were eased, and commercial agreements were made to permit telecommunications services and chartered transport. New travel rules took effect in early 2015, and in May 2016 the Adonia became the first American cruise ship in nearly forty years to dock in Havana.