WELCOME TO HAVANA CUBA

     On March 20, 2016, President Barack Obama visited Cuba, becoming the first President in 80 

years to visit the island. This was a headliner in both counties. A trip down memory lane has nothing 

promising to offer. 1898: The battleship Maine explodes in Havana Harbor. On February 15, the USS 

Maine was anchored in Havana Harbor to protect U.S interests while Cubans revolted against Spanish rule. With the night came the horror. The ship exploded and sank which killed 261 of the 355 crew members on board. Subsequent years brought more tension between the two countries and so were their diplomatic tides. Following the resignation of Fidel Castro due to ill health at the age of 81, his brother Raul Castro assumed presidential responsibilities in 2006 and formally succeeded him in 2008. Early in his presidency Raul Castro appeared to signal an end to hostilities with America calling better relations mutually advantageous. “Today the United States of America is changing its relationship with the people of Cuba” as said by President Obama and this open a new relation between the two countries. Years down the line and this new relations has even grown stronger.

   Headlining major news media outlets across both counties was a cruise ship that was set to sail from Miami to Havana. The Bermuda-flagged Adonia sailed from the port of Miami carrying some 700 passengers. According Carnival, the Adonia will cruise every other week from Miami to Cuba, with promises to engage passengers "in an ongoing cultural exchange program that gives you the opportunity to interact with the Cuban people."