Normalizing US-Cuba Relations: Who Will Benefit?

After normalizing relations between the two countries, there will inevitably be times of suspicion and failure, the New York Times analyzed.

After many secret negotiations with the Cuban government, President Obama officially announced changes in normalizing relations between the two countries on December 17, 2014. According to the New York Times, this was a bold step, ending one of the most erroneous chapters in US foreign policy.

Cuban President Raul Castro (left) and US President Obama jointly announced the normalization of diplomatic relations on December 17, 2014.

The Obama administration's decision will remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, subject to travel and trade embargoes, and diplomatic relations will be fully restored.

The Obama administration has ushered in a dramatic era of change for millions of Cubans who have endured 50 years of cold relations under an embargo.

The prestigious US newspaper said that Mr. Obama could have gently and gradually 'broken the ice' in the relationship between the two countries. But instead, he 'bravely did the most he could within the limits of the 1996 law that imposed tough sanctions on Cuba'.

Cuban Americans speak out against Obama administration's decision

"The past 50 years have shown that sanctions don't work. It's time for a new approach," the US president said.

The New York Times also said that, on the other side, President Raul Castro also made major changes in leadership policies and implemented economic reforms.

The normalization of diplomatic and trade relations is an opportunity for the Cuban business class to develop when they are allowed to conduct commercial and financial transactions with large markets like the United States.

Meanwhile, the White House also plans to facilitate companiesMisstechnologyThe United States is investing in the island nation's still-poor Internet system, a move that could greatly improve the lives of Cubans today.

Video clip of US-Cuba relations over 60 years:

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With the complicated history of relations between the US and Cuba, many people believe that after normalizing relations between the two countries, there will inevitably be times of suspicion and failure, the New York Times analyzed.

According to the newspaper, leaders on both sides will have to make great efforts to confront and handle the situations in a constructive manner.

Construction materials will be more popular in Cuba after the US lifts the embargo.

As part of the move to normalize relations, the Cuban government released an unnamed US intelligence officer who had been held for 20 years and Alan Gross, a 65-year-old US citizen who had been held in Havana since 2009.

Meanwhile, the US released three Cuban spies who had been imprisoned for 13 years. The prisoner exchange will pave the way for a policy overhaul that could become Mr. Obama's top foreign policy, the New York Times commented.

There is still much controversy surrounding Mr. Obama's move toward Cuba, however, the New York Times asserts that history will prove Mr. Obama was right.

According to VTC