New embassy Washington DC raises Cuban flag

Cuban flag raised over its new embassy in Washington D.C

The last time the Cuban flag flew over the Cuban foreign ministry in Washington D.C. was in 1958 during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. The stint was short in embassy terms as relations soured following Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1961.

Cuban dignitary Bruno Rodriguez, visiting the US capital for the first time in his life, conducted the ceremony on Monday at the mansion which has not been used as an embassy for more than 50 years, according to a report in The Guardian.

“The historic events we are living today will only make sense with the removal of the economic, commercial and financial blockade, which causes so much deprivation and damage to our people, the return of occupied territory in Guantanamo and respect for the sovereignty of Cuba,” Rodriguez said.

The low key opening of the embassy in Washington is historic and will be functioning legally on Monday, an unidentified official said.

In coordination with the US opening, the embassy in Havana will open simultaneously without fanfare.

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US Embassy in Havana raises Cuban flag

The official opening, however, will take place on August 14 when Secretary of State John Kerry travels to the Caribbean Island to participate in a ceremony raising the American flag.

There are no plans to appoint an ambassador to Cuba because of the expected condemnation by some US Senators.  Jeffrey DeLaurentis, chief of the mission, will serve as an upgraded charge d’affaires.

Normalizing diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba brings to a close 50 years of cold war induced animosity.  There are still some barriers between the countries. Travel is easier, but is subject to some restrictions.  The fate of lifting the embargo is left to the US Congress to decide; however, business interests are encouraging an end, which could hold sway in the Republican dominated House of Representatives.  

US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla), son of Cuban émigrés, has been one of President Barack Obama’s critics in the normalizing of relations with Cuba.  The Florida senator, who is one of over fifteen Republicans vying for nomination to run for president, inferred that if elected president he would reverse the decision opening the embassy, which would plunge the US and Cuba backwards into an archaic era with little relevance in the 21st century.

As the embassies open, the Cuban flag will join other nations in the US State Department lobby. State Department spokesperson John Kirby said hanging the flag marks the re-opening of the Cuban embassy in Washington.  The lobby features the flags of more than 150 other countries placed in alphabetical order, reported by the Sun Herald.

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Guardian

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