Secretary of State Kerry's Trip to Cuba

US embassy in 1961

A senior State Department official held a press conference on Secretary Kerry's trip to Cuba to raise the flag over our new embassy. He said that due to space limitations, attendance at the embassy-opening ceremony will limited -- it will be "government-to-government event."

But, later in the day, there will be

a large event at the chief of mission’s residence, which is also a diplomatic installation, in which a broad range of groups will be invited, including the Cuban Government, Cuban Americans, Cuban artists and cultural leaders, the Diplomatic Corps, entrepreneurs, and Cuban political human rights and media activists ... nothing in the Secretary’s events on Friday will change our support for dissidents on the island, for political actors, for human rights activists, for independent media. Nothing has changed in that regard, and nothing will, and we will always stand with peaceful political activists who are looking for opening and space and human rights in Cuba.

You can read the full press conference transcript here and this Washington Post/Reuters video says that Cubans were enthusiastic about the new embassy:



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Update 8/17/2015

Press availabiliity (video and transcript) with US Secretary of State Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez.