U.S.–Cuba Relations: A Timeline of the Thaw (2015–2018)

The normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba — announced by Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro in December 2014 — set off a rapid series of firsts: reopened embassies, restored commercial flights, new communications links, and repeated showdowns at the United Nations over the decades-old embargo. This page collects Cuba Journal's contemporaneous dispatches from that period into a single running timeline.

Entries appear in chronological order. For full features and current coverage, see Dispatches.

Floods Mar Havana May Day Parade

May 1, 2015. Violent storms dumped over 7 inches of rain on Havana, leaving 3 dead and causing several buildings to collapse. Cuba's Granma newspaper describes a line of severe thunderstorms packing winds of up to 61 miles per hour. Local media reports suggest that an elderly man drowned in the flood water in the Old Havana District…

Google Toolbar Now Available In Cuba

May 7, 2015. Google announced yesterday a Spanish-language toolbar for Cubans. The new toolbar, or barra de busqueda, streamlines Internet searching and bookmarking. In August of last year, Google made its Chrome web browser available in Cuba so people can search "faster and safer," according to Pedro Less Andrade, the company's director of public government and political affairs…

Cuba Removed From US Terror List

May 29, 2015. The Obama administration removed Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. While not unexpected, this development adds to the momentum that Washington and Havana have gather in the last few months. Secretary of State John F. Kerry rescinded Cuba’s designation as a terrorism sponsor at the end of a 45-day congressional notification period…

Cuba Could Host Major League Baseball Spring Training Games in 2016

June 3, 2015. By the Cuba Journal staff When it comes to sports in Cuba, baseball is king. But just what kind of impact the country’s nascent diplomatic ties with the US will mean for its baseball players and the country’s relationship with Major League Baseball has been murky: until now, according to SB Nation . And now…

US House of Representatives Votes to Maintain Cuba Travel Restrictions

June 5, 2015. By the Cuba Journal staff The United States House of Representatives has voted to retain restrictions on travel to Cuba by US citizens. The House voted 247-176 to retain the restrictions, which was included in a bill involving transportation funding. According to a report in the Telegraph , the provision “would block new rules issued…

US-Cuba Embassy Announcement Expected Soon

June 13, 2015. By Cuba Journal staff photo by: Anna Rydin On Friday, Reuters cited sources suggesting the Obama administration is expected to announce an agreement with Cuba to reopen embassies and restore diplomatic relations severed more than five decades ago. The announcement is expected in July, clearing the way for Secretary of State John Kerry to visit…

The Major Issues Holding Up New US-Cuba Embassies

June 17, 2015. Above: Havana (Photo: Cuba Travel Services) By the Cuba Journal staff They were even ordering office supplies that said Embassy instead of “Interests Section.” After US President Barack Obama’s surprise announcement that he would seek to normalize relations with Cuba, it seemed that it would only be a short time before the US opened its…

Obama Announces Plan To Close Guantanamo Prison

July 23, 2015. by Cuba Journal staff White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday that the Obama administration is in the final stages of drafting a plan to close the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to Earnest, “Let me confirm for you that the administration is, in fact, in the final stages of…

Historic Key West-Havana Powerboat Race

July 31, 2015. by Cuba Journal staff For the first time since 1963, a powerboat will be making an authorized race to Cuba from the United States. In the process, Mark McManus and Roger Kluh will also be attempting to set a world record for the fastest run from Key West to Havana, Cuba. The record attempt will…

U.S. Embassy Prepares for Opening Ceremony in Havana

August 11, 2015. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Cuba to raise the American flag in Havana amid what will be a historic ceremony for the isolated island nation. The event will occur just weeks after the U.S. reopened its embassy in Havana after more than 50 years of estrangement. The flag raising ceremony will occur…

Cuba’s Fidel Castro Marks Birthday With Evo Morales, Nicolas Maduro

August 13, 2015. Castro celebrates 89th birthday By the Cuba Journal staff Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro marked his 89th birthday with Cuba’s two closest allies in the hemisphere, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and Bolivia President Evo Morales. Morales arrived in Cuba on Wednesday to celebrate Castro’s birthday. “We come to celebrate our older brother’s birthday,” Morales said…

Cuba Looks to Make It Rain to Solve Drought Problem

August 28, 2015. Cloud seeding begins next month By the Cuba Journal staff Much of the Caribbean has been experiencing its worst drought in years, and Cuba has not escaped the crisis. That’s why the island is now looking to make its own rain through cloud seeding, the government said this week. The artificial rain program will begin…

BREAKING: US Moves to Reduce Cuba Sanctions

September 18, 2015. According to a report from Reuters, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Friday issued regulations easing restrictions on American companies seeking to do business in Cuba and opening up travel in the latest action to weaken the U.S. trade embargo amid warming relations with the island nation. The rules, effective on Monday, Sept. 21, address…

How Re-Designating Cuba Under "Trading with the Enemy Act" Helped Ease the Embargo

September 18, 2015. On September 11, President Barack Obama extended Cuba's status as an "enemy" under a 1917 law called the Trading with the Enemy Act . North Korea was removed in 2008 - Cuba is the only country with this special designation. Ironically, by extending Cuba's designation as an enemy, Obama preserved his executive authority to chip…

Obama To Oppose UN Resolution Critical Of US Embargo

October 22, 2015. Despite what appears to be efforts by the Obama administration to negotiate with Cuba over softening the language of the UN resolution condemning the US resolution against Cuba, US administration officials have said they must oppose the resolution because its current form doesn't "fully reflect" the new spirit of engagement between the countries. The US…

US Unable to Abstain in Historic UN Vote Condemning the Cuba Embargo

October 28, 2015. The United States on Tuesday voted against a nonbinding UN resolution condemning its embargo on Cuba. Despite President Obama's vocal calls on Congress to lift the trade restrictions, neither side was able to compromise. Cuba's much anticipated victory is the 24th year the US embargo against Cuba has been condemned go the UN. The General…

Cuba: First Direct Mail From US Arrives in Havana

March 16, 2016. The first direct mail from the US to Cuba has officially arrived at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba's government confirmed. The shipment represents the first steps of a pilot program announced in December 2015. The mail shipment was the first direct mail to arrive in Cuba in more than half a century. For…

Cuba Is Adding More Wi-Fi Hotspots

March 17, 2016. Cuba is continuing its Wi-Fi expansion. The country’s state-owned telecom company, ETECSA, has announced its plans to install 80 new “zones” of Wi-Fi connection. Ernesto Rodriguez Hernandez, Director of Computing within the Ministry of Communications, says that the new areas are being developed with a more “comprehensive” approach, after taking advisement from territorial governments which…

VIDEO: Barack Obama's Phone Call With Cuba's Top Comedian

March 19, 2016. Ahead of his historic visit to Cuba on Sunday, United States President Barack Obama took time to speak (and speak in Spanish) with Pánfilo, perhaps the most famous comedic character in Cuba. Pánfilo, who is played by Luis Silva, has long performed a television skit in which he gets calls from Obama; this was, of…

Watch President Obama's Historic Speech in Cuba

March 23, 2016. President Barack Obama on Tuesday acknowledged the difficult history between the US and Cuba, but offered a "message of peace" to the Cuban people as he neared the end of a landmark visit to the communist country. Speaking at the Gran Teatro de Havana, he said it is time for the US and Cuba to…

Cuba, US Holding More Talks in Havana

May 12, 2016. By the Cuba Journal staff Cuba and the United States will hold their third Bilateral Commission in Havana beginning next Monday, May 16, the US State Department announced. US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked Ambassador Ambassador Kristie Kenney, the Counselor of the U.S. Department of State to lead the delegation. In a statement…

A New Solar Park in Cuba

May 22, 2016. The first photovoltaic solar park in the province of Sancti Spiritus has begun operations. The 2.5-hectare park is located in the area known as La Sierpe Vieja, and contains 525 solar panel modules for peak Megawatt production. According to engineer Jorge Armando Cepero, the project aims to raise the efficiency of electricity generation and distribution…

U.S. Expected to Abstain on UN Resolution Condemning U.S. Embargo on Cuba

October 26, 2016. Every year for the past 25 years Cuba has introduced a resolution at the UN's General Assembly criticizing the US embargo against Cuba and demanding its end. The U.S. has lost all previous UN votes by an overwhelming margin. Last year's tally was 188-2 with only Israel siding with the U.S. This year, according to…

Raul Castro's Daughter At Center Of Cuba's New Same-Sex Marriage Policy

October 13, 2018. Cuba's president says he supports a change to the island's constitution in support of same-sex marriage. Miguel Diaz-Canel said in an interview broadcast Sunday on the Venezuela-based television station Telesur: "The approach of recognizing marriage between two people, without limitations, responds to a problem of eliminating all types of discrimination in society." Cuba's current constitution…