President Obama announces Plan to Visit Cuba
Barack Obama could become the first president in 88 years to step foot in Cuba.
The President announced his plan to visit the island next month via Twitter.
Next month, I'll travel to Cuba to advance our progress and efforts that can improve the lives of the Cuban people.
— President Obama (@POTUS) February 18, 2016
Obama also made it clear that a visit does not mean that America's values are changing by tweeting, "We still have differences with the Cuban government that I will raise directly. America will always stand for human rights around the world."
Deputy National Security adviser Ben Rhodes posted on Medium that Obama and first lady, Michelle Obama, will be traveling to Havana from March 21 to March 22. ABC News was the first to report on the story.
A senior official with the administration stated to NBC News that more details about the visit would be unveiled on Thursday.
The announcement of a visit, which would be one stop on Obama's tour of Latin America, comes more than one year after Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro stated that they would try to normalize relations, which were broken after the Cold War.
Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio, the senator of Florida, denounced the visit at the CNN's GOP town hall, stating that the president should only visit Cuba when it is a free nation.
Rubio added that the government in Cuba is "an anti-American communist dictatorship."
Fellow presidential candidate, Ted Cruz, whose father is from Cuba, also criticized Obama's decision to visit the island.
"I think it's a real mistake. I think the President ought to be pushing for a free Cuba," Cruz said. "My family has seen firsthand the evil and the oppression in Cuba. We need a president who stands up to our enemies."
Since the American embassy was reopened, several U.S. officials, such as the Secretary of State John Kerry, have visited the island. Travel restrictions to Cuba have also been eased.
The last president to visit Cuba was Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
