Barack Obama himself has not spoken out about the much publicized salute to Cuban President Raul Castro. But its spokesmen told the U.S. version of events … giving signs of what governments talk about, but no hints of what their heads of state said.
“The president shook hands with those who were on the stand and Mr. Castro was one of those who were there.” That was the justification given to the press by Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the White House.
It is still a mystery what was said during the seven seconds it takes the salute, which ended with a word or two by Raul, to which Obama responded with a nod, a gesture later repeated by Castro himself….
Earnest was not sure of the content of the conversation. “I understand, by reference of people who spoke to the president after the speech, they did not have a substantial conversation about politics, but rather exchanged some compliments as the president headed for the podium.”
What is known is what they did not speak about. “The president was not able to tell directly, as it has done on several occasions, that Alan Gross should be released,” Earnest said.
He clarified that the conversation was short, “so there was not an opportunity for the president to present his multiple concerns about human rights abuses in Cuba.”
In another press conference aboard the presidential plane Air Force One, in which Obama returned to Washington, other U.S. administration officials also answered questions about the president’s greeting Raul.
The national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, acknowledged that it had been a long time since Presidents of the United States and Cuba did not share a common space and simply summarized the changes made by the Obama administration in its relations with Cuba from 2009.
He added that “we are in discussions on issues associated with migration; again, I think they will allow greater connectivity, particularly between Cuba and Cuban Americans.”
The South African government made public the list of speakers at the tribute ceremony to Mandela when the delegations were already headed to South Africa. The press agencies did not take long to highlight the curious coincidence in the list of presidents: Obama and Raul would be together at Soccer City in Johannesburg. For the first time, the two will meet at an international event.
Obama returned to the US on Wednesday morning and Raul is still in South Africa. At noon today he was in Pretoria and visited the funeral chapel of Mandela at the Union Building, headquarters of the South African government.
