Cuba & the U.S. a new start?

• Author: Majerol, Veronica
• Position: INTERNATIONAL

After a half-century of hostilities, the U.S. and Cuba have renewed diplomatic ties. But they're not quite ready to call each other friends.

Can the bitterest of enemies become friends--or at least start speaking again? The U.S. and Cuba are trying to figure out if that's possible. This summer, the two nations reopened embassies in each other's capitals after more than half a century of frozen relations. News of the renewed diplomatic ties, first announced in December 2014, prompted celebrations on Cuba's streets. Many Cubans waved flags, tooted horns--and began to imagine alternatives to the difficult and isolated lives they've endured for five decades under Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and, more recently, his brother, President Raul Castro.

"We've been waiting all our lives for this, and it's very welcome," says Carmen Alvarez, 76, of Havana, Cuba's capital. "We're waiting with our arms and our minds wide open."

The hostilities between the U.S. and * Cuba--just 90 miles apart--date back to the Cold War. In 1959, Fidel Castro and his band of armed guerrillas overthrew the U.S.-backed government of Fulgencio Batista (see Timeline, p. 16). Soon after, Cuba aligned itself with the Communist Soviet Union, and Castro started brutally cracking down on political dissidents. In 1960, he began seizing the assets of U.S. companies, like Exxon and Coca-Cola, without compensation, and in response, the U.S. severed ties and imposed an economic embargo that's still in place today.

The embargo's goal, to oust the Castro regime, hasn't succeeded: Fidel, now 89, held on to power for nearly 50 years before ceding the presidency in 2008 to Raul, now 84. In that time, 11 U.S. presidents have come and gone; and over the years, the C.I.A. concocted some pretty outrageous--and unsuccessful--plots to get rid of Castro, involving poison pills, a bacteria-infested handkerchief, and even an exploding cigar.

One of President Obama's campaign promises was to bring about a thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations, and almost immediately upon taking office in 2009, he took small steps using his executive powers to do things that didn't require congressional approval. He began allowing Cuban-Americans to visit relatives on the island and to send them remittances--cash and consumer goods that Cubans can't easily get, like cellphones and TVs. He also started allowing telecommunications companies to do business with Cuba. After those initial actions, progress stalled for five years, until Pope Francis and the Canadian government helped broker a contentious prisoner swap between the U.S. and Cuba. Then, on Dec. 17, 2014, a day Cubans now call D17, Obama shocked the world with a big announcement.

"In the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years," Obama said, "we will end an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries."

Selfies & Fashion Shoots

Since then, Obama has announced a slew of new rules that chip away at the embargo (see box). He's eased restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and has allowed some types of American businesses to invest there. So far, though, the Cuban government hasn't responded to all of these changes, so it's unclear when--or if--they'll actually take effect.

"It's a substantive moment," says John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council in New York. But "it's all about what the U.S. can do. It isn't about what Cuba can do, or has to do."

Obama also removed Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, making it easier for Cuba's government to get credit in international financial markets. In light of the changes, Havana has become a whirl of business conferences, journalists, and celebrities, including Katy Perry and Conan O'Brien. They're taking selfies, staging fashion shoots, exploring possibilities for trade and investment, or just trying to get a glimpse of a place long off-limits to Americans.

Though many Cubans are also excited, some--especially young Cubans who've lived their entire lives under the Castros--are skeptical that the renewed ties with the U.S. will make any difference for them.

"My life won't change," says Yunior Rodriguez Soto, 17, of Havana. "They won't let it happen," he says, referring to the Cuban government.

Indeed, over the past 50 years, as the rest of the world has entered the 21st century, Cuba has seemingly remained frozen in time. Though the Cuban government has done a good job of providing universal healthcare and education to its citizens, the country's infrastructure and economy have stagnated. Once-grand buildings are crumbling. And the only kind of cars you're likely to see on Cuba's streets are vintage 1950s sedans, many of them American brands--not cool collector's items, but relics of Fidel's ban on car imports when he seized power in 1959.

Milk & Meat Rations

The Internet is highly censored and access is severely limited, with only 4 percent of Cubans living in wired households, according to the United Nations, compared with 87 percent in the U.S. Essentials like meat, milk, and rice are still rationed. Shortages are common, even of fish, despite the fact that Cuba is an island surrounded by bountiful waters.

The only path to a better life, some Cubans believe, is escape. Over the...