Brazil praises Obama for backing end of Cuba embargo in speech

The Brazilian government praised US President Barack Obama today (Jan 21) for having stressed in his speech on Tuesday (20) the need to work towards lifting the embargo imposed on Cuba.

The note released by the Foreign Ministry says that “Brazil prizes the stride made in the much desired normalization of hemispheric relations and of those between the United States of America and Cuba—both of which enjoy historic relations of friendship and partnership with Brazil.”

In December, Cuba and the US announced the resumption of their diplomatic relations after a 50-year standoff. The episode was dubbed by some as the last trace of the Cold War.

Apart from the end of the blockade, Obama urged authorities to shut down the American prison on Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and noted that the change in the US policy towards Cuba could lead to the end of the legacy of mistrust facing the hemisphere.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira