U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry staunchly stood along Cuba's iconic Malecon promenade Friday, presiding over a flag-raising ceremony that coincided with the island opening its first American embassy in 54 years.
Havana's blistering morning sun was matched only by growing unrest some 90 miles away, in neighboring Miami, Florida, where the diplomatic act was met with an amalgam on praise, frustration, and violence from those impacted by Communist dictator Fidel Castro's longstanding regime.
Demonstrations in predominately Cuban-American populated Little Havana resulted in at least two arrests, according to CBS Miami. Video captured an elderly man pushed to the ground after he ripped a pro-diplomacy sign from a protestor's hand, prompting bystanders and police to intervene. Spanish-language handouts depicted a white-eyed President Obama surrounded by the words, "Mr. President open your eyes and see the real Cuba."
At the heart of peacemaking concerns is Cuba's track record on human rights, which "continues to repress individuals and groups who criticize government actions," according to a 2014 Human Rights Watch report. The watchdog group notes people are denied basic freedoms of expression - like reading books and watching certain television stations - by threat of beatings, detentions, imprisonment, and forced exile.
President Obama didn't broach possible human rights violations in meeting with Cuba President Raul Castro during last April's Summit of the America's, a conference marking the first face-to-face interaction between U.S. and Cuban heads of states since the countries severed ties in 1961. Four months later, Obama's administration has sent an overt - possibly defiant - message to officials by urging political chance and telling Cuban nationals they should choose their leaders democratically.
"We remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served by a genuine democracy, where people are free to choose their leaders," Kerry said, speaking outside the re-opened embassy. "We will continue to urge the Cuban government to fulfill its obligation under U.N. and Inter-American human rights covenants - obligations shared by the United States and every other country in the Americas."
Since restoring ties, the two countries have eased trade restrictions, allowed for limited public travel, and jointly released prisoners. The Treasury Department began issuing travel licenses, to the delight of cruise liners and other tourism businesses. They, like many American businesses, plan to profit by giving U.S. citizens intimate, experiences on the island.
On May 29, Cuba was officially removed from the U.S. "Terror Sponsor" list, enabling all of these transactions, including Friday's flag rising, to proceed.
Missing from the ceremony, however, were anti-Castro dissidents who weren't allowed as the ceremony. U.S. officials chalked it up to limited seating. Others saw it as a dangerous precedent being set.
"Cuba's dissidents have fought for decades for the very Democratic principles President Obama claims to be advancing through these concessions," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said in delivering a foreign policy speech in New York. "Their exclusion from this event has ensured it will be little more than a propaganda rally for the Castro regime."