Obama says may visit Cuba in 2016 if citizens enjoy more freedoms

Obama says may visit Cuba in 2016 if citizens enjoy more freedoms
WASHINGTON

U.S. President Barack Obama is open to visiting to Cuba in 2016 but
first wants to see ordinary citizens there enjoy more personal freedoms,
he said in an interview released on Monday.

In an interview with Yahoo! News, Obama said he has told Havana that
without such progress, he is unlikely to visit the Communist island
nation before he leaves office, despite the historic re-establishment of
diplomatic ties between the two countries earlier this year.

"I am very much interested in going to Cuba, but I think the conditions
have to be right," Obama said. "And what I've said to the Cuban
government is 'If, in fact I with confidence can say that we're seeing
some progress in the liberty and freedom and possibilities of ordinary
Cubans, I'd love to use a visit as a way of highlighting that progress.'"

"If I go on a visit, then part of the deal is that I get to talk to
everybody," Obama said. "I've made very clear in my conversations
directly with President [Raul] Castro that we would continue to reach
out to those who want to broaden the scope for, you know, free
expression inside of Cuba."

In the interview, which coincided with the anniversary of the
announcement that Havana and Washington would restore relations, Obama
also defended his aim to close the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, but acknowledged that it was unlikely to be handed back to
Havana any time soon.

Asked if he would return the facility to Cuba if it does close, Obama
said that decision would likely be made by a future president.

Despite a campaign pledge to close the prison established to hold
terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Obama has faced
resistance in Congress to transferring the inmates, especially to U.S.
prisons. There are 107 inmates left at Guantanamo, which once held more
than 600.

Obama has said he can still close Guantanamo before he leaves office in
January 2017, but he has not sent Congress a promised plan on how the
facility would be closed.

Some 2016 Republican presidential candidates have said they would keep
the prison open.

In the interview, Obama defended his administration's vetting and
release of prisoners held there and said there would be strategic gains
in closing Guantanamo.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Bernadette Baum)

Source: Obama says may visit Cuba in 2016 if citizens enjoy more
freedoms | Reuters -
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-usa-obama-idUSKBN0TX1O020151214