U.S. names first ambassador to Cuba in five decades

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States has tapped Jeffrey DeLaurentis, America's top diplomat in Havana, to become the first official ambassador to Cuba in five decades, AFP reports.

"The appointment of an ambassador is a commonsense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced a thaw in relations in December 2014. The two countries restored full diplomatic relations in July 2015.

Since then, Washington and Havana have taken once-unthinkable steps to mend ties after more than half a century of enmity.

Obama has visited Cuba and relaxed portions of the US embargo imposed since 1962.

Flights have resumed and cruise ships can now sail from Miami to Havana.

U.S. companies like Airbnb and Netflix now operate in Cuba and hotel group Starwood, acquired last week by Marriott International, opened a Sheraton in Havana last June.

DeLaurentis is already in Havana and previously worked in Bogota and at the United Nations.

But his nomination, which requires Senate confirmation, is likely to face stiff opposition in Congress, where Cuban-American lawmakers have sought to garner local support by opposing Obama's policies.

Any senator could place an anonymous hold on the nomination. Several Republican lawmakers have opposed Democrat Obama's outreach to the Communist regime led by Castro.