Cuba - Cuban US Embassy opens; flag raised / Cubans hoping for visas flock to new US Embassy / Stars

Описание: (14 Aug 2015)
Cuban US Embassy opens; flag raised
2069620
AP TELEVISION
Washington DC - 20 July 2015
1. Cuban soldiers in dress uniforms carrying Cuban flag towards pole
2. Flag being hoisted
3. Flag
Cubans hoping for visas flock to new US Embassy
2069796
AP TELEVISION
Havana - 21 July 2015
4. Wide of sign outside US Embassy reading (Spanish) "Visas for non-immigrants. Temporary exit", group of people waiting for visa interviews
5. Wide of people waiting outside US Embassy
6. Close of letterhead on visa application documents reading (English) "Embassy of the United States of America. Havana, Cuba" (Visa seeker, 50-year-old, Manuel Catala Veloz holding visa rejection letter)
7. Exterior of US Embassy
Stars and Stripes is raised in Havana
4000323
POOL
Havana - 14 August 2015
8. Raising of US flag at reopened US embassy
STORYLINE:
On July 20th 2015 Cuba's blue, red and white-starred flag was hoisted at the country's embassy in Washington on in a symbolic move signalling the start of a new post-Cold War era in US-Cuba relations.
***
Hundreds of Cubans lined up outside the new US Embassy in Havana on July 21th, hoping the new American diplomatic presence would make it easier to acquire a coveted visa to the United States.
Many were disappointed and left empty-handed after spending months - and hundreds of US dollars - waiting for a chance to visit relatives or emigrate to America.
The onerous visa application process requires spending at least 200 US dollars, a fortune for many in a country with an average minimum wage of 20 US dollars per month.
Meanwhile, there is scepticism in Cuba's dissident community that the new embassy will improve prospects for forcing political change on the tightly controlled island.
The leader of the Ladies in White dissident group said change would only happen from within, regardless of any support from the new embassy.
***
The US flag was raised over the American embassy in Havana for the first time in 54 years on August 14th.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...