Americas

Americas

Obama Urges Congress to Lift Cuban Embargo

13 January 2016 04:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. US President Barack Obama called on US Congress to lift the trade embargo imposed by Washington on Cuba, APa reports quoting Sputnik.

"You want to consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere? Recognize that the Cold War is over. Lift the [Cuban] embargo," Obama said during the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America,” Obama stated on Tuesday evening. “That’s why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people.”

Obama also said that the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is expensive, unnecessary and serves as a recruitment brochure for the enemies of the United States.

"I will keep working to shut down the prison at Guantanamo: it’s expensive, it’s unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies," Obama stated on Tuesday night.