On December 17, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced the beginning of a process of normalizing relations between Cuba and the U.S., which media sources have named “the Cuban Thaw.” Negotiated in secret in Canada and the Vatican City over preceding months, and with the assistance of Pope Francis, the agreement led to the lifting of some U.S. travel restrictions, fewer restrictions on remittances, U.S. banks access to the Cuban financial system, and the establishment of a U.S. embassy in Havana.

Cuba and the United States restored diplomatic relations on July 20, 2015, which had been severed in 1961 during the Cold War. U.S. diplomatic representation in Cuba is handled by the United States Embassy in Havana, and there is a similar Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C.. The United States, however, continues to maintain its commercial, economic, and financial embargo, which makes it illegal for U.S. corporations to do business with Cuba, although the U.S. President, Barack Obama, has called for the ending of the embargo but U.S. law requires congressional approval to end the embargo.

“The president also reaffirmed our commitment to see the Cuban government do a better job of not just respecting but proactively protecting the basic human rights of the Cuban people, and we continue to believe a deeper engagement, deeper people-to-people ties, deeper economic engagement between the United States and Cuba, will have the effect of moving the government and the nation in a positive direction,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

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