[ti:Obama Moves to Normalize Relations with Cuba] [ar:Christopher Cruise] [al:In the News] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]President Barack Obama announced a major change [00:04.19]in United States' policy toward Cuba this week. [00:07.87]He said he wants Congress to ease more than 50 years [00:13.24]of U.S. sanctions against the island nation. [00:16.49]And he said the two nations should once again [00:20.72]formally recognize one another. [00:23.65]"I've instructed Secretary (of State John) Kerry [00:25.95]to immediately begin discussions with Cuba [00:27.55]to re-establish diplomatic relations [00:29.79]that have been severed since January of 1961." [00:32.75]Mr. Obama said he also wants to see [00:36.17]the easing of restrictions on banking, [00:39.37]business activities and travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba. [00:45.01]And representatives of the two countries [00:48.20]will meet to talk about reopening the U.S. embassy in Havana. [00:52.92]The surprising announcement was made [00:56.29]as Cuba released Alan Gross, [00:58.67]an American citizen who worked for the U.S. Agency [01:03.00]for International Development. [01:05.09]Mr. Gross was arrested in Havana in 2009 [01:09.58]and charged with bringing communications equipment to Cuba. [01:14.16]He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. [01:18.29]President Obama said Mr. Gross was returning home [01:22.88]as part of a prisoner exchange with the Cuban government. [01:27.15]He said Mr. Gross and a man described as [01:31.43]"one of the most important (U.S.) intelligence agents" [01:35.37]were exchanged for three Cuban spies. [01:38.96]The three were said to have spent [01:41.82]more than 10 years in U.S. prisons. [01:44.81]In Cuba, President Raul Castro spoke to the nation. [01:50.00]He praised Mr. Obama's move to normalize relations. [01:54.83]He said "This decision by President Obama [02:09.14]deserves the respect and recognition of our people." [02:13.99]The announcement that the two countries [02:16.83]would normalize relations followed more than a year [02:20.86]of secret talks between the two long-time enemies. [02:25.39]Canadian officials and Pope Francis, [02:29.02]the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, [02:32.06]also took part in the discussions. [02:34.75]The pope expressed his "warm congratulations" [02:39.14]on the re-establishment of diplomatic ties. [02:42.62]One opinion survey found that Americans are generally [02:47.80]supportive of the change in policy. [02:50.58]Many agreed with President Obama [02:53.42]that the sanctions against Cuba [02:56.45]have failed to help U.S. interests. [02:59.60]Some of the measures have lasted more than half a century. [03:03.97]To cancel the restrictions, [03:06.51]the president needs approval from the United States Congress. [03:11.09]When Congress begins debating the issue next year, [03:14.93]it will be controlled by Republicans, [03:18.11]who generally oppose the policies of President Obama, [03:22.21]who is a Democrat. [03:24.11]Critics of the decision say improving relations with Cuba [03:29.19]will be a sign of support for the country's government. [03:32.77]One of those critics is Marco Rubio, [03:36.45]a United States Senator from Florida. [03:39.58]Mr. Rubio is a Cuban-American and a member of the Republican Party. [03:45.36]He reacted quickly and strongly to the announcement. [03:49.53]"This president is the single worst negotiator [03:52.88]we've had in the White House in my lifetime -- [03:54.97]who has basically given the Cuban government everything [03:58.57]it asked for and received no assurances of any advances [04:03.21]in democracy and freedom in return." [04:04.90]Many Cubans fled to the United States in the years [04:09.27]after Fidel Castro came to power. [04:12.22]Some of those who fled have long supported [04:16.16]a policy of separating Cuba from the rest of the world. [04:20.16]They approved of actions against Cuban officials and travel bans, [04:25.79]even if it meant their family members could not return to Cuba. [04:31.36]I'm Christopher Cruise. [04:33.36]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com