HAVANA – United States President Barack Obama has arrived
in Cuba on a historic visit, opening a new chapter in US engagement with the
island’s Communist government after decades of animosity between the former
Cold War foes.

Mr Obama landed at Havana’s Jose Marti International
Airport aboard Air Force One, the presidential jet with “United States of
America” emblazoned across its fuselage, a sight almost unimaginable not
long ago.

Stepping down onto the red carpet in a light drizzle,
Obama and his family, smiling broadly and with umbrellas in hand, were greeted
by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. They then boarded a black armoured
limousine, with US and Cuban flags fluttering from the hood, and headed out in
their motorcade.

The three-day trip, the first by a US president to Cuba
in 88 years, is the culmination of a diplomatic opening announced by Mr Obama
and Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014, ending a Cold War-era
estrangement that began when the Cuban revolution ousted a pro-American
government in 1959.

Mr Obama, who abandoned a long-time US policy of trying
to isolate Cuba, wants to make his shift irreversible. But major obstacles
remain to full normalization of ties, and the Democratic president’s critics at
home say the visit is premature.

Traveling with first lady Michelle Obama, her mother and
their daughters, Sasha and Malia, the president was to visit the newly reopened
US Embassy and then play tourist on his first night on the Caribbean island,
taking in the sights of Old Havana.

He will hold talks with Raul Castro – but not his
brother Fidel, the revolutionary leader – and speak to entrepreneurs on Monday.
He meets privately with dissidents, addresses Cubans live on state-run media
and attends an exhibition baseball game on Tuesday.

– Reuters