US President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday, December 17, that the US would “end an outdated approach” towards Cuba and begin to normalize diplomatic relations between the two countries. The announcement came after Cuba released USAid contractor Alan Gross on humanitarian grounds after five years’ imprisonment for work related to providing internet access to Cuban Jews.

Obama said that the United States will reopen an embassy in Havana and “high-ranking officials will visit Cuba.” He added: “After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked.” Obama also said he instructed secretary of state John Kerry to review Cuba’s status as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Wednesday also saw a prisoner swap between the two nations involving the release of a Cuban intelligence asset to the US, in exchange for three Cuban spies he helped capture. Credit: YouTube/White House