Obama, Castro converse before landmark summit
The two may have a substantial sit-down at the event, the first to include Cuba.
PANAMA CITY — Even before the Summit of the Americas got started here Friday, Presidents Obama and Raul Castro got on the phone, chatting about opening embassies in each other’s countries and other points of “diplomatic normalization,” the White House confirmed Friday.
It was the latest sign of gradually improving relations between the two Cold War enemies and an apparent prelude to “interaction” here at the meeting of the hemisphere’s leaders.
This is the first time Cuba is participating in a Summit of the Americas, a gathering held every three years. Cuba’s inclusion came as a result of pressure from the rest of Latin America and the decision announced in December by Obama and Castro to reestablish diplomatic ties after more than 50 years of enmity.
“Cuba’s participation does signal a new chapter,” said Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security advisor.
“We are in new territory here,” he said, alluding both to the phone call and the meeting Thursday night of Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez — the first such meeting, Rhodes said, in 57 years.
Obama and Castro spoke by telephone in December, in connection with the announcement, and have met briefly once. But there is wide expectation that they will have their first substantive sit-down here at the margins of the summit.
Rhodes acknowledged that serious differences remain between the two nations and will continue even after the opening of embassies. The process that would lead to the U.S. removing Cuba from its list of states that sponsor terrorism — a key demand from Havana — is advancing but is not complete, he said.
He also criticized Cuban pro-government activists who scuffled with Cuban dissidents this week during a parallel summit for “civil society,” saying such action was “grossly inconsistent with the spirit of dialogue” of the summit and threatened to overshadow the spirit of goodwill that should mark the event.
Cuban adversaries came to blows over one another’s presence in the parallel meetings, which were dealing with democracy, human rights and other social issues.
At odds are an official delegation of Cuban “civil society,” or nongovernmental groups — although most seem to be from the very governmental Communist Party — and a collection of dissidents from Cuba and abroad who vehemently oppose the Castro government.
On Wednesday, the first day of the parallel summit, members of the official delegation complained that they had not all received the credentials necessary to enter the meeting. They protested outside the hotel where the meeting was to take place, blocked the entrances and then started accusing the dissident group of being “mercenaries” and “murderers” on the payroll of the U.S. government.
“Viva Raul!” “Long live Fidel!” they shouted before the television cameras. Then they complained that the dissidents should not be allowed to participate in the conference at all. At one point, the two groups began to scuffle, with fists thrown and police called. Twelve people were arrested.
That was not the end of it. On Thursday, members of the official delegation attending the meetings attempted to derail conversation to support issues important to the Cuban government, according to participants.
“We are tired of the ... Cubans,” said Sofia Montenegro, a Nicaraguan activist who was also participating. “They want to sabotage everything.”
Eventually, she said, participants sneaked away from the conference rooms, leaving the Cubans behind. Only then, she said, could they agree on various points on the agenda, including the demand that the Organization of American States, a sponsor of the summit, create a mechanism for monitoring democratic progress in Latin American nations.
“We didn’t tell them where we were going,” Montenegro said of the Cubans. “We weren’t going to play along anymore. We left them by themselves.”
Abel Prieto, a close advisor to Raul Castro and head of the Cuban delegation, said the dissident group had no standing and should never have been included in summit events.
“It’s not possible to ask Cuba to dialogue with puppets of these special services agencies in the U.S.,” he told El Nuevo Herald.
Elizardo Sanchez, a leading human rights activist in Cuba not recognized by the government, said the important thing in Panama was being able to sit at the table. Even though that table had to be moved away from the other Cubans here.