U.S and Cuba to renew ties after 54 years

Cuba and the U.S have agreed to restore diplomatic ties after Washington severed ties 50 years ago. The United States' commercial ties with Cuba were broken 54 years ago after Fidel Castro took over.

 On Wednesday, the U.S President, President Barack Obama ordered the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and the opening of an embassy in Havana and economic ties are expected to follow.

Congress will still have to act to lift economic sanctions against Cuba. But by loosening restrictions on travel and permitting travelers to use U.S. credit and debit cards in Cuba, among other things, Obama may have started a process that can't be reversed

The surprise announcement came at the end of 18 months of secret talks that produced a prisoner swap negotiated with the help of Pope Francis and concluded by a telephone call between Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro

Havana released a US citizen, Alan Gross, who had been jailed for five years in Cuba, and an intelligence agent who spied for the US and was held for nearly 20 years. The US in return freed three Cuban intelligence agents who had served 16 years in US jails for spying on Cuban exile groups in Florida.
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