policy against cuba.e'll look at the check impact and an american released after five years in a cuban prison. the taliban murdered 130 children as they studied in school, now we have a look at the scene of the attack. a major theater chain will not show a movie that mocks north korea because of terror threats. that's coming up at 6:00. >>> let's check out our team. here a science journalist and'dicator with a background in neurobiology. treatment. >> all right, i'm all rigged up. some say zapping her brain with

in october 2011, return to cuba last year. he joined us from havana, cuba.gan 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 cuba

with cuba. that's exactly right thing to do. >> thank you so much. this policy obviously will affect thousands of people's lives as u.s. and cuba who move closer together. of course it's obviously have a major impact on the life of alan gross returning to the united states and the lives of three cuban intelligence agents who are also flying back to the united states. alan gross we're told will land at andrews air force base at 11:30 a.m. this morning, will have some words to the media and then will go back to being with his family trying to get his health better. >> i'm sure that's causing such a good sigh of relief from every family member knowing he's on his way. thanks so much patrick. we appreciate it. i want to turn to somebody on the phone from madrid tud, spain, former governor bill richardson is on the phone with us. your reaction to the news that this deal is being made for the return of an american to american soil but also about the potential for new relations with cuba. >> well, this

y nosotros que defendemos las retricciones cuba no ha cambiado y todos hacen con comercio con cuba yerciante no le puede pagar tÚ eres de francia y tienes un pequeÑo hotel que no eres el dueÑos porque solamente es el rÉgimen es el dueÑo no le pagas a al obrero directamente se lo paga con dÓlares al rÉgimen y le paga al pobre cubano en pesos no tiene ese beneficio. segundo todos esos sueÑos de todo el comercio acuerdense que han venido mude necho dinero a y no le ha llegado al pueblo. y quÉ ironia jose alan gross el pobre infeliz, inocente que estuvo encarcelado durante 5 aÑos estaba en la cÁrcel por las mismas razones que el presidente obama dice para darle computadores, para darle satÉlite internet y toda comunicaciÓn porque el rÉgimen lo puso en la cÁrcel por la comunicaciÓn. >>> pero cuÁl es la soluciÓn porque hay 54 aÑos y el congresista quien estuvo en la aviÓn con Él dice que la polÍtica estadounidense la verdad que es inÚtil? >>> estÁ polÍtica nuestra no es inÚtil y nos da presiÓn para que cuando tengamos ese cambio en cuba, que va a llegar, no importa lo que haga obama. cuand

and cuba. cubans have been reunited with their families. ambassadors for our values. exchanges, a hese younger generation has question is what a keep t cubical stuff. i have been prepared to take major steps for a long time. in wrongful imprisonment, cuba, of a u.s. citizen and u.s. subcontractor, allen gross, for five years. many months, my administration has held talks with the cuban government. pope francis gave it and the ar plea to me cuban government for the release of allen gross. today, allen returned home. reunited with his family at long last. ellen was released by the qa government on humanitarian grounds. the rately, in exchange for three cuban agents, cuba today released one of the most important intelligence agents the united states have -- agent that the united states has ever had in cuba. this man, who sacrifice has few, known to only a provided america with the allows to n that arrest the nnetwork of agents and other spies in the united states. recovered these two men, who sacr

one of the reasons to take cuba off the list is cuba can be sued. it loses diplomatic -- the sovereign immunity because its on the list. this is resulted in dozens of lawsuits being filed in miami. they're awarded by default. they're not defended by the government of cuba and then these cases are now starting to hit the international financial markets. they're trying to seize dollar transfers. they're going after accounts. their ill lustrytive case has a judgment of a man close to $4 billion, default judgment. he got it in the dade county court and that's based on his father committing suicide, i believe, after their car dealership and gasoline nation was nationalized in cuba in 1960, i believe. all these years later, a $4 billion freshly delivered judgment against cuba. that lawyer was quoted only a few days ago as saying he hopes to harvest $20 million out of these dollar accounts, which in this cases represent legitimate trades cubans buying wheat from argentina, all dollars come through the new york depositatory system so these ravenous packs of

and cuba was alan gross. an in 2008 we saw a ground swell of support amongst cuban people thinking there were movements of change afoot here. that all ended in december 2009 when gross was imprisoned. there was this question of tit for tat, whether there would be an exchange of political prisoners and exchange of spice, now what we're see something getting back to a place we were in 2008, what motivated that on the part of the cubans? did life get worse for them? are they tired for it? does the internet allow them to see another world? if you lived without this for 50 years, what changed? >> it's probably not the internet. but you look at this cuban committee, the 80's, subsidized by the sovietdown. that collapsed. then it was the venezuelans. you have that chief subsidized oil. and then the oil its effecting economies that traditionally helped cuba. now they may be facing pressure here. >> they're losing some of their patrons. they want to make friends with the ones next to you. how tough is it to live in cu

born in cuba.nt 16 years in cuba's prisons because of his opposition to the communist-led government. in 197 safe he received amnesty. here is a picture of him. he received amnesty, he was allowed to leave cuba. two years later he immigrated to the united states, and he has lived here ever since. but his experience living in cuba is not unique. human rights watch an international group based here in new york says, quote? its latest report they say they harass, and intimidate people and the report says that cuban officials punish descents by instilling fill in the public, including beatings, public acts of shaming, termination of employment, and threats of long-term impress think. dozens of the political prisoners remain in cuban prisons according to rolling human rights group. we don't have a true count because the government prevents international or national human rights groups from accesses its prisons. for more on cuba and human rights and the president's announcement on norm icing al icinon no

he talked to the people in cuba, people o of cuba. about freedom of expression all these things we're seeing in cuba today. >> john it's interesting because the woman you saw speaking there came here when she was 12 years old, her mother sent her from cuba and her mother stayed behind. the interesting generational component, the people who came out are probably in their 50s or 60s they're part of the brain drain. when fidel castro had his revolution in the 50s he tried to redistribute things from the upper to the lower classes, 600 miles of are owed were built in his first -- of roads were built in his first six months. what's happened now is a violation of what we believe this country would offer us. >> morgan, thank you very much. the deal was negotiated during 18 months of secret talks. sr. washington correspondent mike viqueria joins us, mike. >> loosening many of the restrictions that have been in place for a long time both in terms of communication, exchanges, the amount of money that can be remitted from cuban americans living

cuba. and certainly the steps that are announced today are going to go a long way, much further than perhaps any administration in living memory to try and reach a normal and racial, sane policy with cuba. >> thank so much for the reporting. cnn is the only american network in cuba on the ground at this morning. sounds like the flood gates are about to open personally and financially. >> it's going to be interesting to get the reporting on the ground. there are generations of cuban americans who believe that they had their lives and what matter to them most stripped by that administration that is fill in place. there's a lot of coverage for us to do on this major breaking news. let's get you to the newsroom with carol costella for more. >> thanks so much. "newsro "newsroom" starts now. i'm carol costello. we have breaking news this morning. what may be the biggest shift in cuban relations in decades appears to be unfolding this morning. alan gross, an american contractor held prisoner in cu

but for that to happen, cuba has to be normal. cuba has to be a democracy.the day cuba takes significant steps towards democracy, i will be the first one to stand up here and say now is the time to change policy. that day is clearly not today. >> you have been told that the administration would not move forward on anything regarding cuba without consulting congress. did you consult congress? >> a couple points. i was aware of these measures last night, not from the administration. i chose not to discuss it at the time because i did not want to imperil the safety and well-being of mr. gross, who, as i understood, was in route or potentially in route. i was not consulted by anyone in the administration until about 10:00 a.m. this morning, when secretary kerry placed a call to me. i expressed a secretary my belief that they are being incredibly naÏve, if not willfully ignorant about the impact that this is going to have on cuba. all of a sudden democracy is going to spring. that is outrageous and ridiculous. the notion that somehow this is going to lead to a se

why not with cuba?because we don't have diplomatic relations with iran, a state sponsor of terrorism. by the way, i'm actually shocked that people use china and vietnam as the example to follow because those are oppressive regimes. i frankly think that we're going to regret the day that we treat china as if they were a democratic, wonderful democracy-loving country. having said that, we don't have diplomatic relationships with states who sponsor terrorism. cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism. now, wolf, mark my words, you watch, president obama will give that away as well. he will change that designation that has been there under his administration and previous administrations because i guarantee you another concession the president has given to the castro regime is he's going to take cuba off the lists of state that is sponsor terrorism, that it is a state sponsor of terrorism. president obama has appeased it, giving it everything that they had been asking for. and the only thing -- there are no guara

i am not a cuba specialist. i study the u.s.-cuba relationship. what i would like to spend about 30 minutes doing now is focusing upon what intrigues me most about washington's policy toward cuba. that is the mental software we use to undergird our policy. and that's what the book is about. what it attempts to explain is what everyone agrees is a dysfunctional policy. but first, as wolf blitzer says on "the situation room," we have some breaking news. i want to talk a little bit about what president obama did yesterday. he announced a relaxation of the u.s. embargo of cuba. this is an embargo that began in october, 1960. it was instituted by president eisenhower just a few days before the election between richard nixon and john kennedy. candidate nixon asked the president to do something to show some spine toward cuba and the embargo was the step that was taken. i think there's a little truth in advertising to begin. i am not a cuba specialist. i study the u.s.-cheaper relationship. what i would like to spend about 30 minutes doing now is focusing

i'm not a cuba specialist. i study the u.s. cuba relationship. what i would like to spend about 30 minutes doing now is focusing on what intrigues me most about washington's policy toward cuba. that's the mental software we policy andrgird our that is what the book is about. ist it attempts to explain what everyone agrees is a dysfunctional policy. first, as wolf blitzer says on "the situation room", we have some breaking news will stop i want to talk a little bit about what president obama did yesterday. he announced a relaxation of the u.s. embargo on cuba. this is an embargo that began in october of 1960 and was instituted by president eisenhower just a few days before the election between richard nixon and john kennedy. can dick nixon asked the president to do something to show some spine toward cuba and the embargo was the stuff that was taken. i think there is a little truth in advertising to begin. i am not a cuba specialist will study the u.s. cuban relationship. what i would like to spend about 30 minutes doing now is focusing upon what

-cuba relations.filleddministration has meetings about the case and other aspects of the relationship. his holiness pope francis issued a personal appeal to me into cuba's president raul castro urging us to resolve alan's case and to resolve the interests of been cubans who have jailed in the u.s. for over 15 years. today, allen returned home, reunited with his family at long last. allen 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 imprisoned for nearly two decades. ,his man who sacrificed provided america with the information that allowed us to arrest the network of cuban agents including the men transferred to cuba today as well as other spies in the united states. this man is now safely on our shores. president raul castro also talk about the move to normalize relations. as a result of a dialogue at the highest level, which inclu

the other two agents were sent back to cuba in 2013 and 2014. in cuba the five are national heroes. their faces can be seen on posters like these all across the country. >> catching up with the remarkable series of events that remade cuban american relations in the space of one morning this time on the program. with us, ambassador carman romaline. and maria , director of latin america and latino studies in chicago, and adol pho franco. at the core of the president's reasoning, are we changing the policy because it just didn't work, is he right? >> i disagree with that. i think the policy has worked in many ways, that's because it's been a thorn in castro's side. the fact that alan gross was in prison in the first place has been the cuban government's persistent pre-occupation that was managed under george w. bush. people made these arguments in the 1970's, and ronald reagan had a completely different view. i think the principles need to be defended. i'm baffled as to why the president has taken this action when nothing has changed in cuba. they've released a hostage in my opinion th

policy on cuba.we are awaiting two live news conferences that should have more major revelations in a half hour. alan gross himself. this will be his first commentary since his release imprisonment in half in a for all those -- havana for all those years. we're going to hear from members of congress who traveled from washington to cuba today. we're going to bring you any news that happens out of both of these. gross landed late this morning after as we mentioned being held for five years in captivity on espionage charges. he was arrested while working for a sub-contractor on a controversial u.s. agency for international development project, helping to set up internet access. cuba's view, circumventing their crackdowns on information access. president obama spoke about gross's release last hour from the white house, and announced that major overhaul in cuba policy. >> over many months my administration has held discussions with the cuban government about alan's case and other aspects of our relationsh

we had millions of people that fled cuba, continue to flee cuba. they want to see a continuation of a policy of not normalizing with a country that has shown no signs of liberalization. it's minor what they have done, and most people support a policy of what would be called biological solution, when the castros are gone, they believe the embargo and the u.s. influence could have an impact on those that follow. >> when you hear president carter say this is going to benefit cubans and americans, you say... >> absolutely not. i mean, cubans, what would benefit cuba is the cuban government opening up to its own people, allowing them to have unfettered access to run businesses, they are controlled by the regimes, and there's no purchasing power. they earn $20 a month. there's no money to buy anything. >> you don't think this will help the economy in cuba. >> i think it will help the economy of the military that controls 80% of the economy. >> not the people. >> no, absolutely not. i think the timing is interesting before the republicans take control of

and cuba interact. >> let's now listen to the president of cuba with english translation, and again, he made his remarks at the same time president obama was speaking to the nation here. >> -- an individual of cuban origin who acted at the service of that nation. addition additionally we also returned to his country, citizen of the united states alan gross. unilaterally, which is our practice in strict adherence to our law, he has received bene t benefits, including release of individuals which the government of the united states had expressed interest in being released. likewise, we have agreed to restore diplomatic relations. this does not mean. that the major things have been resolved. the economic embargo -- commercial and economic and financial embargo which causes huge human and economic damage to our country, must cease. though the measures of the embargo have become law, the president of the united states, can change the enforcement thereof under his executive branch powers. we propose to the united states government to take mutual measures for the improvement of our bilatera

and cuba. most recently, panama, the host of the 2015 summit of the americas, invited cuba to participate for to the first time, despite objections by the white house. this might choose to be a decision forcing moment, pushing the administration to set a course for the final two years of the president's term. ultimately this could amount to an opportunity for a long bilateral relationship. but additional questions are still relevant. the island still depends on venezuelan aid, that seems to be on increasingly shaky ground as the venezuelan economy further deteriorates and as most of you know, this is the 5-year anniversary of -- not to dig into those issues today, even though they do provide important context for this and any discussion of the bilateral relationship. so what we're here to offer is an exercise. one that i think is long overdue, an exploration of the what if, rather than a debate over the should we? i couldn't feel more strongly that this is the right moment to engage in this con

>> yo nunca-- he estado en guantÁnamo, pero nunca en cuba. >> ¿le gustarÍa ir a cuba?ertamente con sectores dentro de cuba que estÉn trabajando por la libertad. desafortunadamente, pienso que en este momento en la historia, primero no creo que los cubanos me dejen entrar, el gobierno cubano, y segundo, no creo que me van a permitir poder dialogar y trabajar junto a esos grupos dentro de cuba que piden la libertad de la democracia. no sÓlo han permitido a mis colegas que han apoyado estos cambios, seguro que no me van a permitir a mÍ. >> senador marco rubio, gracias por hablar con nosotros. >> muchas gracias. >> y continuamos. ahora vamos a pasar con el otro senador republicano, tambiÉn de origen cubano americano, ted cruz, senador de texas. dijo que la decisiÓn del presidente barack obama fue un grave error que tendrÁ enormes consecuencias. esta semana tuve la oportunidad de conversar con el senador cruz. senado cruz, gracias por hablar con nosotros. >> jorge, siempre es un placer hablar contigo. >> senador, el presidente obama dice que el embargo no ha funcionado, ha

and cuba. those discussions held in canada. then very interesting point, tamron, this fall u.s. delegation, a cuban delegation met in the vatican. the pope apparently very engaged in this had written to president obama, had written to president castro. had encouraged this type of transfer to occur for the purpose of easing relations between the two countries. so important to point out that the pope was instrumental in this as well. i also mentioned just a few moments ago the fact that the u.s. would be encreasing and opening the ability for americans to travel to cuba. i want to make it clear, though, it still won't be able to -- americans won't be able to go for the purpose of tourism. that's something that congress would have to approve. still it is significant that more americans will be able to travel to cuba over those 12 does naeesignations i talk abou among them business, journalism, going to work in cuba, for example, for humanitarian purposes. i want to read one quote says, quote, does

we will continue to. >> on cuba, let's get going in cuba. exchanginganics of diplomats and embassies, but first, the senate foreign relations chairman said today that president obama was rewarding a brutal dictatorship. is that the proper description? would point you to the comments of not just the president of the united states of the statement we put out by the secretary of state. i would take either one of the first conversations that secretary kerry had with president obama about foreign policy and the second term agenda was about cuba. was not that the policy longer working. it was not serving our national security interest. it was not serving the interest of the cuban people. embassies,lishing what are the steps? i know that you are talking with them. >> i already addresses. in the interest of getting to everybody's question, i would point you to that. >> can you tell us about the -u.s. intelligence assets released today? senior administration officials have said that he helped to resolve that led to the prosecution of a couple of case

property claims in cuba. what steps have been taken through the claims settlement process to think about how that will happen in order to move along this change question mark >> sonja? >> thank you, is venezuela going to be the new cuba in u.s. foreign policy? ok, let's start with carlos. i think we need to understand -- i think the cuban leadership knows and understands this. if they don't know it, i hope they do. is goingdevelopment crazy. just because you have it increasing of the outlet, unless you have the right connection, you will not get any benefit. the fact that the world opens up to cuba economically -- the rest of the world has been open to cuba except for the u.s. the fact that it is open to cuba means nothing unless cuba implements the right kind of reforms that it needs in order to meet the challenge. before the investment law was put in place a year ago, they have not been able to show one investor of credibility, it just doesn't work. at some point, the cuban government has to stop fooling ar

the president of cuba or the regime in cuba. it doesn't. it just hurts the people. i hope that this can become a good relationship as we have with china. which we have--the chinese people have american products, as you well know. i don't understand why we cannot have such a good relationship with a country that is our neighbor. >> i'm not so sure that everyone will agree with you, including our antonio mora. i'm bringing you in on the reaction. >> you know, i think sebastian brings up the view of the north of younger cubans. i think they would like an opening with cuba. i'm not sure that wher little havana is just the center for republican cubans. i think cubans go there. i do think that there is going to be what that picture showed. you have him speaking to you about how he feels strongly that this is a great thing for cuban relationships, and the cuban people. and then as you pointed out you have the man behind him that says this should not be happening. jeb bush has issued a statement, and he said we should not be negotiating

as a matter of fact, you have new leadership in cuba. you have a younger generation in cuba.t to cuba with a group called semester at sea. they've been going in and out of cuba for years and they are fascinated by that country. i think the reason is strictly politics. the cold war. the fear of communism. and isn't it quite absurd that for 50 plus years, we've been talking about, we don't want to do business with one of the smallest communist countries on the planet but yet we do business with china? >> right. that seems to have been a glaring contuld nontradiction t of american people. >> and did it work? for 50 years we thought if we keep the embargo in place, cuba will fold and embrace democracy. it didn't work. after trying something 50 years, let's change course. because cuba has already changed course. let's change course at home and see what we can get in terms of bringing forth a more democratic society in cuba. >> i've been watching this for years. i've even been to cuba once and i couldn't make any sense out of how we could deal with all kinds of countries who are co

in cuba.t: thanks very much. we will carry with the president has to say at hour from now. back to the sony hack attack story. i say this is a victory for the terrorists as they are using the big packet back to limit free speech. judge andrew napolitano as a few things to say about that. what sony has done is to reach read. they have been threatened about this new movie about north korea. they won't have a premium. the two starnes won't and a promotional material and theory runners and told you don't have to rent if you don't want to. is a diminution of free-speech. judge napolitano: i agree with you entirely. i wish these things didn't happen. i which the federal government could protect the right to free speech. this is a satire, this is the essence of an american way of mocking people in power. we can produce movies about the president of the united states and anybody, but apparently this hacking which we all thought was a little humorous at first when the e-mails him out, derisive e-mails

he said that any change here in cuba would happen on cuba's terms and nobody else's. that was indicating that he planned to keep the respect for the cuban people, and for decision making on how cuba decides to carry on economic diplomatic changes in the future, very much in a cuban way. so he really was reaching out and saying that - looking for respect, and it was a speech very much for an international audience and a domestic audience in cuba. throwing a little bit of cold water on expectations here that there might be a rapid change in the island, which won't happen, it will take some time. >> translation: we can't pretend that by improving ties for the united states, cuba will renounce the ideas for which it fought, for which its people shed a lot of blood. >> the cuban president as well brought up the issue of cuban american community in the united states, especially the hard-line anti-cuba focus who are in florida. they potentially might try to stab tij the process going forward. there's a lot of - no love loss between that group and a lot of cuban leadership he

cuba more free.ple who want to expand opportunity in cuba will be strongly in favor of this engagement. 54 years of failure, the castro brothers have survived over a presidents. it clearly did not get us to where we want to be. this is a new opportunity in bringing alan home and also trying a new policy of engagement with cuba. >> senator graham -- your counterpart on the foreign operations of committee -- that he will block funding for opening the embassy in cuba. >> we already have intersection in cuba. the horses out of the barn there. the fact is, everyone will say how they will speak. there are 535 members of congress. 100 in the senate. everybody has got to make up their mind how he or she wants to be. but, speaking as an american, i would hate to think as an american, either on business or visiting a whatever reason in another country, and something happens and i say, wait, i can always call my american embassy and seek help, and they say, oh no, this is just about countries where we do not ha

history with cuba, in light of those who fled cuba, seeking freedom in the united states. this is a sign the united states can be a force for openness, trying to move toward more democratization, opportunity for the people of cuba particularly the children look outward and get a sense of how their culture is important, the beauty, the richness of the cuban culture, the art and the music, chance for free exchange, think that is going to be very important. >> what do you say to those people who gave up so much to flee cuba after going through horrific ordeals to come to freedom. what you say to those people who say how can you do a deal like this, how can you just open the doors like this? >> we have to spend a long time listening to these people. but let's talk about how do we go forward. it has to be reconciliation and the truth being brought forward about what people did when they fled cuba. cubans can unite as people and share the diversity and beauty of people with the world but we cannot gloss over what you are talking about when people felt they had to flee specifical

in cuba.arkets must be celebrating, but it was something entirely different. it was the federal reserve. the s&p and the nasdaq doing better than the dow. 2%. that's a lot of percent. this is the s&p 500's best day since october of 2013. by far the best day of 2014. this of course is a great take away for people who have investments in 401ks and retirement accounts that mimic the index. i don't think the cuba stuff hurt. >> explain why the market loves it so much. >> there are economies around the world slowing down, china, india, europe and russia because of the sanctions between them. but ultimately the drop in the price of oil has meant that inflation threats, which is really one of the things that the feds look like has been erased for a little while. if the fed sees inflation as a problem. or the economy growing too quickly they increase interest rates. as a result the economy slows down. but now the threat of inflation has disappeared because of oil prices, they're leaving it alone. now

expert.not a cuba i study the u.s.-cuba relationship. i want to focus on what intrigues me most about washington's policy toward cuba. that is the mental software we use to undergird our policy. that is what the book is about. what it attempts to explain is what everyone agrees is a dysfunctional policy. saysirst, as wolf blitzer on "the situation room," we have some breaking news. i want to talk about what president obama did yesterday. he announced a relaxation of the u.s. embargo of cuba. this began in october, 1960. it was instituted by president eisenhower just a few days before the election between richard nixon and john kennedy. candidate nixon asked the president to do something to show some spine toward cuba and step thato was the was taken. [no audio] i think there is a little truth in advertising to begin. not a cuba specialist. i studied the u.s.-chiba relationship. what i would like to spend about 30 minutes doing now is focusing upon what intrigues me most about washington's policy toward cuba. that is the mental software w

and cuba.t could change cuba's economic fortunes at a time when the country needs that. that's in part because of the price of oil. a price plummeting now below # $0 a barrel. and some economies like venezuela and russia are backers of cuba. cnbc anchor brian sullivan joins us for more. i know you don't have a lot of time right now. i wanted to ask you though about the surrounding economic forces. first of all, how significant are the implications of this changing relationship, and second of all, how much is driven by the economic context we just talked about? >> second part first, a ton because listen, for years venezuela has been cuba's not sugar daddy, but oil daddy. they have subsidized to cuba. russia a similar deal as well. russia and venezuela are both highly dependent on the price of oil. their economies are sinking fast as the price of oil falls. part of the thawing of the relationship goes to economics, cuba realizeding if we to want maintain any level of economic stanlt, little by th

and cuba, allow business between u.s. and cuban banks including the use of credit cards by american travelers, permit more exports to cuba to support business and allow americans to import some cuban goods, including cuban alcohol and cigars. in a rare address that aired at the same time president obama spoke, raul castro welcomed the landmark deal. >> translator: this expression by president obama deserves the respect any recognition by our people. >> officials say this is not a reward for the castro regime, but a recognition the embargo is not working. if the u.s. wants to change cuba it needs to engage more with the cuban government and cuban people. as part of this deal, cuba has agreed to release 53 cuban political prisoners from a list provided by the u.s., allow more access to some of the prisoners in jail by the icrc in the u.n. and also allow more internet freedom. so the u.s. say this is a start. they will not let up on human rights, but today, obviously, a big day. >> i was in the room when alan gross spoke and

so cuba's care of him certainly hasn't been great. >> well, cuba has -- cuba uses propaganda and pressuret and the united states could have had alan gross released within weeks of his imprisonment and the obama administration chose not to pressure the cuban government. instead they decided to just let's have dialogue and let's figure out how to do this. the united states government has enough leverage where it could have had alan gross released within a matter of weeks, especially financial pressure on cuba. and anyone who thinks about the embargo and says that it's what's causing economic problems in cuba doesn't understand that the embargo restricts american companies from doing business in cuba. except with some exceptions. and the list of exceptions is thousands and thousands of products and industries and every other country in the world trades with cuba so you can get chilean wines and you can get swiss cheese and you can get french ham. the idea that poverty in cuba is caused by this embargo is an outrage. the poverty in cuba is caused by the fact that the government controls all e

i do not see anything that cuba has to do or that cuba will do. think we have seen that cuba is committed to a hegemonic, one party system. that is is not going to change. cuba is committed to a centrally planned economy, to one degree or another. extensively i would suspect. so i don't see any movement towards democracy and free markets as we are -- >> jose, what do you say to people who argue that if we got rid of the embargo these would be more likely to happen. the castro brothers wouldn't have them as an excuse. this could be the best thing to bring about the very changes that you want. >> well the failure of the cuban economy has nothing to do with the u.s. embargo. >> exactly. that is my point. if you got rid of it, then they couldn't blame it anymore. >> they will find something else to blame. they will certainly [ inaudible ] and frankly, what -- and this is what really concerns. when you are dealing with a totalitarian state that controls fundamentally 85% of the economy t financial benefits don't flow to the people. they flow to the sta

/cuba relations. for as long as anyone can remember and today, mark this date, december 17th, 2014, it changes everything. lots and lots to talk about here. we have senator bill nelson, democrat of florida joining me now from orlando. senator, wonderful to have you on. thanks for joining me. >> it's a hallelujah day not only for alan but we know have two americans home in that exchange and then a whole bunch of other things are going to happen in the future as you just heard. >> let me get to the other things in a second. first, senator, i would love to hear your gut reaction to seeing mr. gross there almost jovial cracking jokes here. he's been in a prison for five years. he's back on u.s. soil. he's got his popcorn and his corn beef and rye sandwich on the plane. what did you make of what we just witnessed there? >> just amazing. the american spirit is alive and well even though they subjected him to such brutal conditions. so this is a hallelujah day. by the way, when he gets around to finding out

cuba relations.s' wife is on the plane with him along with congressman leahy, flake. president obama will speak at noon. raul castro expected to speak at the same time at noon. alan gross expected to speak at 1:30 eastern time. what does it mean? it may be the first step toward normalizing relations between the u.s. and cuba. something that has not happened since january of 1961. president obama will call on secretary of state john kerry to review cuba's terror designation but there's only so much the president can do. he can certainly change things in the treasury department which is in charge of monitoring the relations, the commercial relations between american companies and the cuban government. treasury and the state department -- state department as far as travel to and from cuba cuba. let's bring in kelly o'donnell on capitol hill where there's going to be mixed reaction to what the president may be speaking about. >> everyone is pleased for alan gross' family and alan gross himself. i heard f

all of this bound america and cuba in a unique relationship, family and foe. proudly the united states has oo supported tkepl case democracy through these years. though this policy has been rooted in the best of intentions no other nation joins us in imposing these sanctions, and it has had little affect beyond providing the cuban government with a national for restrictions on its people. today cuba is still governed by the castros and the communist party that came to power half a century ago. neither the american for cuban people are well served by a rigid policy that is rooted in events that took place before most of us were born. consider that for more than 35 years we've had relations with china, a far larger country also governed by a communist marty. nearly through decades ago we reestablished relations with vietnam where we fought a war that claimed more americans than any cold carr confrontation. that's why when i came into office i promised to repain our kaub abou cuba policy. we lifted for cubans to travel and sent remit tansess to their families in