WASHINGTON WEEK

WITH GWEN IFILL

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 @ 9:00PM

President Obama’s action to restore diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba was the result of 18-months of secret negotiations with the communist regime that also included a prisoner exchange. Pope Francis played a crucial role in the talks that led to the release of American contractor Alan Gross, who was held in a Cuban prison for five years.

There was substantial push-back, mostly from Republicans to the president’s announcement. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, whose parents emigrated from Cuba, is among a group of bipartisan lawmakers vowing to block the deal and U.S. plans to establish an embassy in Havana.

 

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