12/18/14 12/18/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica this is democracy now. >> today the united states of america is changing its relationship with the people of cuba. and the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years, we will in an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests and instead, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. >> president obama announces the united states will restore full diplomatic relations with cuba

for the first time in more than half a century. part of the deal includes cuba's release of u.s. contractor alan gross, as well as a cuban spy. the u.s. released the final three members of the cuban five. cuban president raul castro also addressed the cuban people. >> this in no way means that the heart of the matter has been solved. the economic, commercial, and financial blockade, which causes enormous human and economic damages to our country, must cease. >> we will spend the hour in a roundtable discussion, we'll go to havana to speak with kornbluh, who wrote, "back channel to cuba: the hidden history of negotiations between washington and havana." gd we will speak with and

martinarbus and michael ratner. as well as robert muse, who wrote, "the new normalization?" all of that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama has announced the united states will restore full diplomatic relations with cuba for the first time in more than half a century. in a historic address wednesday, obama announced the shift would include the opening of a u.s. embassy in havana. >> secretary kerry to immediately begin discussions with cuba to reestablish diplomatic relations that have .een severed since january 1961 going forward, the united states will reestablish in embassy in havana and high-ranking officials will visit cuba. where we can advance shared interests, we will, on issues like health, migration, counterterrorism, drug trafficking, and disaster response. >> the softening of relations also came with the release of

prisoners in both the united states and cuba. cuba released alan gross, a subcontractor for the u.s. agency for international development, or usaid, who was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years for smuggling in illegal technology for opposition groups. cuba also released a top spy identified by newsweek as rolando sarraf trujillo, a former cryptographer at cuba's directorate of intelligence who worked secretly for the cia. in exchange, the united states has released the three remaining members of the cuban five, cuban intelligence officers who were arrested in the united states in 1998 and convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. they say they were not spying on the united states, but trying to monitor violent right-wing cuban exile groups responsible for attacks in cuba. we'll have more on cuba after headlines. the official death toll from an ebola outbreak in west africa is climbing toward 7,000 as a new report faults the international community for its slow response.

a report by a uk parliamentary committee said the who and countries around the world failed to heed clear warnings about the outbreak. in sierra leone meanwhile, an 11th doctor has died of ebola, as the country has launched house-to-house searches to root out cases in the capital of freetown. new york state is banning the oil and gas drilling process known as fracking, citing potential risks to public health. fracking involves blasting sand, water, and toxic chemicals deep into shale rock to release oil and gas, a process which can poison water supplies and pollute the air. environmentalists have waged a fierce campaign to pressure the administration of new york governor andrew cuomo to render permanent a 2009 moratorium on the practice. following a two-year study, acting health commissioner howard zucker said he had concluded fracking posed too much of a risk. >> the potential risks are too great.

in fact, they're not even fully known. upon the limited data presently available to answer the public health risks would be negligent on my part. i have identified significant public health risks in the current data, and until the public health red flags are answered by valid evidence through longitudinal long-term studies, perspective and analysis, patient surveys with large population groups showing the risks for impact on public health are avoidable or sufficiently low, i cannot support high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the great state of new york. >> new york will the the first state with major gas deposits to ban fracking. the move will protect reserves in new york's portion of the marcellus shale, a massive underground rock formation which stretches across multiple states including pennsylvania, west virginia and ohio. , vermont governor peter shumlin has backed down on his promise to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state. shumlin first won election in

2010 with a pledge to make vermont the first state in the country with single-payer healthcare. but on wednesday, shumlin said the tax hikes needed to fund the system had proven too high. >> i'm not going to undermine the hope of achieving critically important health reforms for the state by pushing could maturely for single-payer -- prematurely for single-payer when it is not the right time for vermont. this is the greatest disappointment of my political life so far, that we could not advance this as quickly as we had wished. but we shall preserve your, we shall get it right, we shall push on. >> in arizona, the final undecided congressional race from this year's midterm elections has been decided in favor of a republican candidate. retired air force colonel martha mcsally has defeated democratic incumbent ron barber. his defeat gives republicans their 247th house seat in the new congress, their largest majority since the great depression. sony pictures has cancelled the release of a film about a plot

to kill north korean leader kim jong-un following threats against theaters and a hack of corporate data, which officials say was ordered by the north korean government. theater companies had canceled showings of the $44 million comedy, "the interview," starring seth rogen and james franco. sony says it has no further plans to release the film. in colombia, farc rebels have announced a unilateral ceasefire following a round of talks with the government. the rebels say they will end all hostilities unless the army targets them first. farc representative ivan marquez said he hoped the move would become permanent. >> since we believe that we have initiated a definitive path toward the peace along with constituent process, we are a result to declare a unilateral cease-fire and en. still it isd for an indefinite time, which

should transform into an armistice. >> talks between the colombian government and the farc aimed at resolving the 50-year conflict resumed earlier this month in cuba. in new york city protesters , gathered in new york city wednesday to mark five months since eric garner died after police placed him in a banned chokehold. they pinned him in to the ground while he repeatedly said, "i can't breathe." a grand jury declined to indict officer daniel pantaleo for garner's death. demonstrators are also calling for justice in the case of slain african american akai gurley, who died in november after an officer allegedly fired his gun by accident in a dimly lit staircase at a brooklyn housing project. the officer, peter liang, then texted his union rep as gurley lay dying. on wednesday, a group of attorneys staged a die-in at a jail in brooklyn. this is lisa edwards and deborah right. >> we represent clients

everything all day and we want them to know not only are we upset as to what has been happening with mike brown, eric garner, no office -- waiting on what is going to happen with akai gruley, we wanted to make sure our clients to argue today and any other boroughs -- you are here today and in the other boroughs know we work for them. we work within the system, but the system is broken. we need a special prosecutor. we need open grand jury minutes and that is what we need to get justice. >> a former corrections captain at the rikers island jail complex in new york has been convicted of a civil rights violation for leaving a mentally ill prisoner to die in his cell after he ate a packet of toxic detergent. in 2012, jason echevarria pleaded for help for hours as the detergent burned his insides. captain terrence pendergrass repeatedly ignored reports the prisoner was ill, at one point telling a subordinate he shouldn't bother him unless

"there was a dead body." echevarria was found dead the next morning. prendergrass could face up to 10 years in prison. the fbi has launched an investigation into the death of an african american teenager who was found hanging from a swing set in north carolina. in august, 17-year-old lennon lacy was found dead in a majority-white trailer park in the tiny town of bladenboro. he had been in a relationship with an older white woman. local authorities quickly ruled his death a suicide, but his family and the local naacp have raised the possibility he may have been lynched. they say local police rushed to judgment and overlooked basic, questions like why lacy was wearing someone else's shoes. in south carolina, a 14-year-old african american boy wrongfully convicted of murdering two white girls has had his name cleared 70 years after he was executed for the crime. in 1944, george stinney became the youngest person to be

executed in the united states. he weighed less than 100 pounds and had to sit on a phonebook to fit into the electric chair at his execution. stinney was convicted and executed within three months of the murders by a jury of 12 white men after his white lawyer failed to call any witnesses in his defense. his family has long said he was forced into confessing. on wednesday, a judge threw out his conviction, calling the case an "unfortunate episode in our history." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama announced wednesday that the united states will restore full diplomatic relations with cuba for the first time in more than half a century. the historic remove -- move was reportedly facilitated by pope francis and the vatican, who helped begin secret negotiations

last year. the softened relations come with a prisoner exchange. cuba has released alan gross, a subcontractor for u.s. agency for international development, or usaid, who was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years for smuggling illegal technology into the country for opposition groups. also released was a cuban who had provided information about cuban spy operations in the united states. obama did not identify the prisoner by name, but newsweek reports he is rolando sarraf trujillo, a former cuban intelligence officer who who -- who had worked secretly for the cia until he was arrested on espionage charges in 1995. meanwhile, the united states freed the remaining members of the cuban five -- gerardo hernandez, antonio guerrero and ramon labañino. the men were arrested in the united states in 1998 and convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. but cuban intelligence officers say they were not spying on the united states, but rather trying

to monitor violent right-wing cuban exile groups responsible for attacks inside cuba. president obama outlined the exchange as the prisoners were already returning home. >> over many months, my administration has held casersations about alan's and other aspects of our relationship. pope francis issued a personal appeal to me and to cuba's president raul castro urging us to resolve alan's case and the release of three cuban agents who had been jailed in the united states for over 15 years. returned home, reunited with his family at long last. alan was released on humanitarian grounds. separately, in exchange for the three cuban agents, cuba today released one of the most important intelligence agents that the united states has ever had in cuba and who has been in

prison for nearly two decades. this man, who sacrifice has been known to only a few come a provided america with the information that allowed us to arrest the network of cuban agents and included them in transferred to cuba today will stop as well as other spies in the united states. this man is now safely on our shores. >> the deal between the united states and cuba is a major diplomatic victory for cuba's president raul castro, who has offered to engage in direct conversations with obama "as equals" since he came to power in 2006 after taking over from his brother fidel. castro announced the changes in his own midday address to the nation. >> as a result of a dialogue at the highest level, which included a phone conversation i had yesterday with president obama, we have been able to make headway in the solution of some topics of mutual interest for

both nations. as fidel promised on june 2001 ,hen he said, they shall return they have returned to our homeland. the enormous joy of their families and all of our people who have relentlessly fought for this goal is shared by hundreds of solidarity committees and parliamentsrnments,

, organizations, institutions, and personalities who, for the last 16 years, have made tireless effort demanding their release. we convey our deepest gratitude and commitment to all of them. president obama's decision deserves the respect and acknowledgment of our people. >> news of the u.s.-cuba deal follows news that usaid tried to infiltrate cuba's hip-hop community in a botched plot to foment anti-government unrest. as part of the program, the agency hired creative associates international, a firm that also played a key role in the cuban twitter program, a fake social media program launched in another bid to undermine the cuban government. in the hip-hop case, creative associates was directed to recruit young rap artists looking to make social change. the program ended up endangering some of the artists, and their

careers. on monday, the head of usaid said wednesday he will step down -- said he will step down in february. rajiv shah gave no public reason for leaving, and in a statement said he had mixed emotions that the united states is restoring diplomatic relations with cuba as outlined by president obama on wednesday. >> i'm now taking steps to place the interest of the people of both countries at the heart of our policy. first, i have instructed secretary kerry to immediately begin discussions with cuba to reestablish diplomatic relations that have been severed since january of 1961. going forward, the united states will reestablish an embassy in havana and high-ranking officials will visit cuba. can advance shared interests, we will. on issues like health, my gratian, counterterrorism, drug trafficking, and disaster response. second, i've instructed secretary kerry to review it as

a states -- state sponsor of terrorism. the review will be guided by the facts and the law. third, we are taking steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to and from cuba. this is fundamentally about freedom and openness and also expresses my believe in the power of people to people engagement. with the changes i am announcing today, it will be easier from athens to travel to cuba. americans will be up to use american credit and debit cards on the island. i believe american businesses should not be put at a disadvantage in that increase commerce is good for americans and for cubans. so we will facilitate transactions between the u.s. and cuba. willfinancial institutions be able to open accounts. it will be easier for u.s. exporters to sell goods in cuba. i believe in the free flow of information.

unfortunately, our sanctions on cuba have denied cubans access to technology that has empowered individuals around the globe. so i authorized increased telecommuting's connections between the u.s. and cuba. businesses will be able to sell goods that enable cubans to communicate with the u.s. and other countries. >> well, today we spend the hour looking at this new chapter in u.s.-cuba relations. here in new york, attorney martin garbus is a member of the cuban five legal team. and michael ratner is president emeritus of the center for constitutional rights. he has written several books on and the coeditor of -- joining us from washington, d.c., is robert muse, an attorney, and an expert in u.s. laws relating to cuba. he was in havana, cuba, on wednesday when the deal was announced. his recent piece published in the americas quarterly is, "the new normalization?"

in havana, we go to peter kornbluh, director of the cuba documentation project at the national security archive at george washington university. he's the co-author of the book, "back channel to cuba: the hidden history of negotiations between washington and havana." welcome all of you to democracy now! let's begin in havana with peter kornbluh. your response to this historic announcement by president obama in washington, d.c. and president raul castro in havana, cuba, where you are right now, peter? well, i have one word to response, amy. finally. finally, after 55 years and elements of sanity and effectiveness and modernization has arrived to the insane u.s. policy that u.s. presidents have been pursuing towards cuba for all these years, all these decades. as you can see from looking at

me, the sun is coming up over havana bay. i really have a sense, and i think the cubans i have talked to in the street, have a sense of a new day, a new dawn, new beginning as president obama himself has said. there really is a sense of excitement here about the future. i taxi driver who just brought me down to the studio to be with the taxi chauffeurs rre talking about when it will be up to get a ford van for taxis so they can carry more people around. expectations are high that it will lead to development here. he says we've had a lot of politics, but you can't eat politics. hoping ae talking -- change in relations with the united states pretends a much better development future for cuba's economy in the future of this country.

>> we're going to go to break and then come back to this discussion. that was peter kornbluh. today he is in havana, cuba. this is democracy now! on this historic day after the announcement that for the first time in over 50 years, the u.s. and cuba will begin normalizing relations. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. day after theic announcement of both president obama as well as president raul castro on the beginning of normalizations of relations between the united states and cuba. not everyone was happy. republican senator marco rubio of florida blasted president obama's new cuba policy, calling it "a concession to a tyranny." rubio is cuban-american. this is part of what he said. quick the white house has conceded everything and gains little. they gained no commitment on the part of the cuban regime to freedom of press, freedom of's breach -- freedom of speech reelection. no binding commitment was made to truly open up the internet. no commitment was made to allowing establishment of political parties or to even begin the semblance of a transition to democracy. in exchange for all of these

concessions, the really the cuban government agreed to do is free 53 political listeners who could wind up in jail tomorrow morning as they once again take up the cause of freedom. these changes will lead to legitimacy for a government that shamelessly, continuously abuses human rights, that it will not lead to assistance for those whose rights are being abused. it is just another concession to y by the obama administration rather than a defense of every inalienable right our country was founded on and stands for. --that was florida senator florida senator rubio. we're joined by a roundtable of people. in havana, peter kornbluh is with us, head of the cuba documentation project at the national secure the archive. in washington, d.c., robert muse is with us, washington dc-based lawyer and a relating to u.s.

laws with cuba. , the president emeritus at the center for constitutional rights. and we're joined by martin garbus, part of the cuban five legal team. time magazine calls him one of the best trial lawyers in the united states while the national law journal's has named him one of the countries top 10 litigators. your response to what has taken place this week? >> i saw gerardo a few weeks ago in jail. >> one of the three remaining cuban five. >> who had a double life sentence. it is hard to believe he is gotten out under the american legal system. he was unjustly convicted. it is extraordinary looking at the guy over the last many years , an extraordinary human being who was lynn wishing in a jail, sometimes in solitary confinement, and the idea he is out and able to go to his family come he and his wife, is just wonderful. >> peter kornbluh, what was it

like when the three remaining jailed members of the cuban five arrived in havana? >> well, it certainly was a big moment for quite a few cubans. raul castro and his presentation on television yesterday at noon really led with the story that the counterterrorism heroes, as they are called here in cuba, were coming home, that cuba had released a cuban cia asset in return and also an immigrant citizen alan gross. his essentially was beginning. the normalization of relations with u.s. kind of came second and i would not say was secondary, but certainly was bearing the lead if you will. for cubans, there has been this campaign in cuba, also in the u.s. and around the world, a

solidarity campaign which martin has been such a part of, to free these last remaining agents. just like any other country that i think has people abroad in prison who have represented the government, these men have been away from their families for 16 years. the television last night was filled with images of them reunited with their families, meeting with raul castro, going to see their old friends. it certainly was an important event for cuba. certainly, it was. a lot of images on television and discussions in the press. the firstre we go to of the cuban five who were released, rené gonzalez, who are interviewed when he returned to cuba, martin garbus, if you could talk about these five men convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage in the united states and yet they said they

were here, yes, spying, but spying on violent anti-cuba groups. >> they were here working with the u.s. government to try to stop the right-wing groups in florida from continuing to , sending arms to cuba, from flying over the island and from actually killing people. there was an explosion at a hotel in many people were killed. they were working with the cooperation of the american government. let me say one thing before i get into that. glass, a lawyer, whom you know well, and before me, he were 10 years on the cuban five case. whatever the result here is, he is certainly owed something for it, at least in knowledge meant. >> he died. >> a few years ago. wonderful lawyer. at the same time as you had the bush gore vote in florida, it became necessary to find someone

to blame for some killings which occurred in 1996. my client was ultimately arrested and convicted. he was arrested 3.5 years for the allegedly killing. although the american government had all of this information for some 3.5 years prior to that. ultimately, he is charged. the first time there is a conviction, the appellate court reverses the conviction because they think the jury was unfairly composed of people hostile to the cuban government. >> you said they worked with u.s. government. explain. >> they were turning information over to the u.s. government am a terrorist activity done by the right wing. that information is being spread and there were meetings in havana between the american government and representatives of the watch group who were exchanging information. >> president obama said about the release of these three men that the release -- well, he did not name rolando sarraf trujillo

, the cuban agent working for the cia who is held by cuba for something like 20 years, just released yesterday, but he said that spy for the u.s. had helped give them information that led to the imprisonment of the cuban five. >> yes. >> i want to turn to rené gonzalez, to this democracy now! exclusive. he was the first of the men to be freed, the cuban five. in october 2011, return to cuba last year. he joined us from havana, cuba. i began asking why he came to the united states to investigate a militant cuban exile groups. cuba, it generation, was part of our development work, and experience to have ,een people coming from miami

killing people here in cuba, blowing up airplanes. with were really familiar what the cuban people have been suffering for promised for years, back then. -- for almost four years, back then. it was hard for me to accept the mission of going there in order desk monitoring the activities of some of those people who have been trained by the cia in the 60's. some had participated in the bay of pigs. some of them after that had gone to south america as part of the operation condor. if you look at the history of those people, [indiscernible] even the kennedy assassination, plus wars linked to them. it was hard for me to accept the mission and go there to protect

cuban people's lives, and that is what i did. >> that was rené gonzalez. he has been living back in cuba for a few years, one of the cuban five. now all five are back in cuba. less well known in this country, or in the last 24 hours, almost no real discussion of who these men are. it's more attention paid to alan gross, who was the usaid subcontractor who went down to cuba and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. he served five of those years and was released yesterday. martin garbus? >> robert gross -- >> alan gross. >> pardon me. alan gross was a usaid employee. he was sent down with satellite increment. -- increment. sometimes other people were sent. the equipment was used to allow people on the island to directly cumin a kit with the united states so that the cuban

security networks work cuban internet lines would not pick it up. was supported because he was jewish by jewish groups he originally claimed he was down a working on behalf of jewish groups to spread information to other jewish groups in miami. he ultimately admitted that wasn't true. he ultimately sued the american government percent in him down without warning him specifically about what was going to happen to him. very little question any longer that he was sent by the government. he said he was sent by the government and the government admitted it. asamerica he is per trade something other than that -- portrayed as something other than that. >> you met with alan gross in cuba, is that right? yes, i'm that with alan gross twice over a one-year period for a total of seven hours. , awas in a military hospital

wing of a military hospital that had been converted to a prison. we talked a lot about what he was doing, what he was feeling. he became very angry at his own government for abandoning him here for all these years. it is clear for the last year through back channel means, the obama white house has been negotiating to get him out. my sense of talking to him was that his mental state was so fragile, that he might actually ie,on a hunger strike and d attempt some sort of suicide, an escape plan and be hurt or killed, or attack a guard. and all of that -- anything that cubaned here in a military prison would have compromised any possibility of the obama administration moving forward as it did yesterday on completely changing -- reversing course 180% the history of

u.s.-cuban relations, bearing the petrol antagonism of the past and moving forward to a normal relation in the future. so getting alan gross out through this prisoner exchange was extremely important. it really was the first step. what we saw yesterday was the white house deciding to do an entire package all at the same time, not doing one step at a time to change u.s.-cuban relations, but getting alan gross out, returning the cuban spies to cuba, and then degreeally ending to the the president can, the hostility and the aggression in u.s. policy toward cuba. >> upon returning home from five years of imprisonment in cuba, usaid subcontractor alan gross addressed reporters in washington, d.c. country, and this

thank you, president obama for everything that you have done. today and leading up to today. but ultimately, ultimately, the decision to arrange for and secure my release was made in the oval office. to president obama and the staff, thank you. in my last letter to president obama, i wrote that despite my five year tenure in captivity, i would not want to trade places with him and i certainly would not want to trade places with him on this glorious day. five years of isolation notwithstanding, i did not need daily briefings to become visit of what are undoubtedly incredible challenges facing our nation and the global community. i also feel compelled to share with you my utmost respect for and fondness of the people of

cuba. in no way are they responsible for the ordeal to which my family and i have been subjected. , or at leasts most of them, are incredibly kind, generous, and talented. it pains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments mutually belligerent helices. 5.5 decades of history show us such belligerence inhibits better judgment. two wrongs never make a right. i truly hope we could now get beyond these mutually belligerent policies. and i was very happy to hear what the president had to say today. >> that was alan gross, speaking in his lawyers offices yesterday in washington, d.c. ,lso joined by michael ratner the president emeritus of the

center for constitutional rights who co-authored two books on cuba. technically, it wasn't a prisoner exchange between alan gross and the three remaining members of the cuban five. cuba released alan gross on humanitarian grounds? >> raul's speech was clear. he said they decided to release him on the military and grounds, not part of the exchange. the exchange was for the three cuban five members remaining in prison for freeing this man named rolando sarraf trujillo, who is the agent the cubans had jailed, as well as perhaps what we understand is 53 other what the u.s. refers to as political prisoners in cuba. so that was the exchange. alan gross was let out on human return grounds.

broader picture, i mean, when i heard the news first about the cuban five, i almost wept because to me that was the most personal story about rage. >> they had been held for 15 years? >> and on a case that was not worse anything -- worth anything. i read that and i found it extraordinary. it should be understood, as peter said, finally, after some 50 years, but in fact, it is a great victory for the cuban people and the cuban government. because this government, our government, has been try to destroy the cuban revolution since day one, since before day one. in essentially, this is an admission that it did not succeed. yes, it heard it and made it economically difficult and changed it in terms of being an example for the rest of the world, perhaps, but it was unable to destroy it. in the end, they tried everything. they tried blowing up airplanes, bombing --

>> let's go back. it started under president eisenhower in the last few weeks of his administration. the overall embargo against cuba that was then just intensified by president kennedy. this has gone through 10 presidents. >> intensified by president kennedy, but any of our listeners were not alive, the bay of pigs when the u.s. try to overthrow the government of cuba by lending on the beach which we call in english the bay of pigs. they failed. thousands were taken prisoner by the cuban's. after that is when things got very, very -- it was serious then, but at that point, then the embargo was imposed starting through 1962 with full force. military actions, terrorism, that just continued up until, as we pointed out, even with alan gross and a id still going into

undermine the government both physically like that as well as economically, which they can see now with the embargo. this is really a major, major victory. the other point i think are important obama's speech and raul's speech as well, who started with the cuban five, which shows how important case was. in obama's stock, he talks about diplomatic relations, which we will see, and then he talks about the embargo. some of to loosen up the aspects of the embargo, giving us a little wider travel but not opening travel fully, which you could do immediately. he could allow you and i to get on a plane tomorrow as tourist and go to cuba. he did not do that. he could do a lot more on the embargo. in fact, with licensing, he could probably undercut the embargo completely -- almost completely. but he said in that speech, well, have to work with commerce to do it. in fact, he doesn't. he still has a lot to calibrate with regard to keep it to

continue to put pressure on cuba but in ways or not ways of lifting the embargo. you ask yourself, why did this happen now? that is one question i would like to your other people talk about. i'm not sure. part of it is the change in latin america, and you referred to that. you have progressive left of center and leftist governments in many countries in latin america and cuba is no longer isolated the way it was in the early 1960's when he had military dictatorships. maybe to get along in that region, they had to do that. is, our policyid doesn't work. it did not work. what he claims the policy was was to bring democracy to cuba. in fact, it was to destroy the communist revolution in cuba, so could not be an example. now, perhaps, tying into the idea we flood more money into cuba, maybe we will be able to subvert the fundamental values of the revolution. >> you mention blowing up an

airliner. i want to go to that, to the aboutaul landau's film your support for violent anti-castro militants. this excerpt he tells in part like orlandoles bosch and luis posada carriles, , cube on a airline with symmetry passengers on board, is hit. >> we have an explosion. we're just sitting immediately. we have a fire on board. are you turning to the field?

> good evening, nine days ago, cuban passenger jet on route from barbados to havana crashed into the sea following an onboard explosion. 73 persons of 57 cuban, were killed. >> an excerpt of saul landau's film, "will the real terrorist please stand up." orlando bosch and luis posada carriles, who blew up this airliner0 ,went on to live freely in miami. we're going to take a break and we will be back. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we continue our roundtable discussion with martin garbus legaln the cuban five team. michael ratner and peter kornbluh. we're joined in washington, d.c., by robert muse, who just came up from havana yesterday, a lawyer based in d.c. who is an expert in u.s. laws relating to cuba. his recent piece i list in the mecca's quarterly, "u.s. presidential action on cuba: the new normalization?" tell us about hearing this news, robert muse. >> of having a little trouble hearing you. >> tell us about hearing the news. where were you, about the announcement of the normalization? >> i was having breakfast with

peter kornbluh in hotel, and we were told -- >> in havana, cuba? >> that's right, in havana. with ited -- 70 came in and had picked up a news release that alan gross was being released. access towe had early the fact sheet coming out of the white house on what actually was going to be done. i want to compliment the obama administration ongoing much larger and further than any of us expected it would go. there was a hope and expectation the obama administration would do some things in the new year, but i must say thanks to his national security team, they did go further. renewing diplomatic relations, a commitment to renew cuba's

inclusion on the terrorist list -- which will conclude in six months. i think it is pretty much understood that cuba will be taken off. the thing that most interest me is the embargo, the commercial embargo on cuba and how far the administration will go. it is a little unclear. they talk about rule makings with the treasury department and commerce department. you can see the broad outline and what they're doing. if all's under the heading of adjusting the regulations -- it falls under the heading of adjusting the regulations to more power the cuban people. it is worth being clear what is contemplated and what is not right now. cuba isnvestment in still prohibited. donatedk about remittances to cuba. you can give money to the small cuban private sector to establish businesses, things of

that sort, but you really can't fas investing cuba. is. commercial sector going to be able to invest in goods, agricultural equipment to the small cuban private sector. that doesn't seem to contemplated equal men and infrastructure developed so much as perhaps items that can be emerging cuban private sector. building materials can be sold to cubans for use in private construction. a lot of this will depend on how the rules are written, but it's certainly encouraging what the president has done so far. respond to michael ratner. michael, you said you feel the embargo could be lifted not by an act of congress, but by the president himself? >> would be interested in hearing peter's view, but yes,

he can issue regulations, as peter is talking about, licenses, etc., that would allow a lot more goods, etc., and services and investments in cuba without actually getting congress to move on the embargo. he is only got a certain distance on that so far. he could go a lot farther. he could open up travel completely. he could do a number of other things of regulation and licensing. peter, who is an expert on this -- >> bob muse. >> bob, sorry. >> your response on that? >> michael is correct. something that is missing is trade. since 2000, the u.s. farmers have been able to sell agricultural commodities to cuba. that is broadly defined. it includes everything from chewing gum to wine. but cuba cannot sell anything to the united states yet. they have allowed u.s. travelers

to cuba to bring back $400 worth of cuban goods as a company bagged. -- accompanied baggage. they can bring up to $100 worth ,f tobacco and alcohol -- rum of course, is what they would be bringing. i would like to see the administration move quickly to other sales. cuba produces sugar. it has a number of agricultural potential for exports to the u.s. i endorse completely what michael said that the president's ability to lift the embargo through licensing and rulemaking is essentially unfettered. the principal role of congress is going to be to tidy up all the loose ins of permanent trade status for cuba to investment protection agreements and so on.

something i would like to alert your viewers to is, there is going to be some pushback coming. we do have a republican congress now. i would expect to see a number of amendments inserted into appropriations bills that will try to limit presidential discretion in this area. typically, they will attach it to must pass legislation. to put president obama and his difficult predicament. if you veto something he really wants, because it has some objectionable provision relating is the dilemma that would like to put the president in. it will require great vigilance from various sectors, including the u.s. business community, to pride event that from happening -- to try to prevent that from happening. >> but aren't they divided? like rocco rubio says he will

stand in front of nominations, etc. yet politicians in places like alabama that really want business, agricultural trade with cuba. and the chamber of commerce, the corporations that have felt they are prevented from going to cuba by corporations from other countries around the world have a leg up on this. >> that is a good point. i think we should be clear that the pro-embargo elements in congress has become much more bipartisan than it was say 10 or 15 years ago. half the black congressional caucus, which is uniformly democrat, now votes in favor of the obama -- sorry, the embargo. that has been a product of very carefully targeted pac contributions over time. so -- i say we can expect this nowuse the congress is

republican-controlled, that doesn't mean a lot of democrats don't support the embargo. it just means senior democrats like pat leahy, dick durbin, who traditionally took out these objectionable amendments and conference, legislative conference, won't be empowered to do that anymore. it is a misapprehension of think democrats in congress are uniformly in favor of lifting the embargo on cuba. >> it is interesting to also talk about the u.s. relationship with another part of cuba, the u.s. has put cuba on the u.s. terrorist list. what about the u.s. property that is actually cuban property, guantánamo? michael, as we begin to wrap up this discussion, what happens with guantánamo? >> guantanamo is there on what we call a bilateral lease tween $4000 orand cuba, like

4000 pounds of gold or something, dollars in gold. raul break the lease. -- it takes both parties to break the lease. it is a political and legal outrage. 70 something have been cleared for release. essentially run as a torture chamber. there was a black cytec guantanamo. you are seeing this opening with cuba and yet you're seeing the united states using this as essentially an offshore detention interrogation and one time torture facility. the demand here should be to close guantánamo for starters, and secondly, to ultimately return guantánamo to cuba. >> talking about global relations, the u.s. relations with latin america. peter kornbluh, roll castro is

set to because of pay for the first time, the cuban president, next year's summit of the americas in panama. as we wrap up, let's wrap up in havana, cuba, where you are, peter, about the significance of this moment. i think we have to give a lot of credit to the latin american nations. panama, which is hosting the next summit of the americas in april, the countries like brazil and mexico and argentina who have been pushing the obama administration for years now to normalize relations with cuba. the latin american countries basically have said to the obama administration, we're going to boycott the next summit in less cuba is included. you are going to be isolated, not cuba. and so raul castro has been invited and has accepted as part of the package of changes of policy that president obama announced yesterday, he said, i am going to the summit. he said i'm going to bring some

dissident and voices of democracy with me, but he says, i am going. for the first time, you have an opportunity in 55 years for the president of the united states and the president of cuba to sit around a table, discuss multilateral and bilateral relations. have 20, we just seconds. i want to ask about the significance of the pope weighing in on this agreement. secretpope was a intermediary in our back channel to cuba. we write about all of the intermediaries over these years. lilly, back channel diplomacy led to where we are today. now we are situation, open diplomacy, over t diplomacy. works peter kornbluh, thank you for joining us from havana,

martin garbus and michael ratner . thank you to robert muse joining us from washington, d c democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! @ @@ú