Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Puerto Rico News Videos



Puerto Rico News Videos



Puerto Rico News: Puerto Ricans are still selling their new certific...

Puerto Rico News: Puerto Ricans are still selling their new certific...: ...Puerto Ricans are still selling their new certificates to undocumented immigrants. Puerto Rican birth certificates are sold to undocu...

» Puerto Rico: This UFO obsessed governor hopeful has extra-terrestrial plans for Puerto Rico - YouTube
22/04/15 19:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Published on Apr 20, 2015 UFO enthusiast Reinaldo Rios launched his independent bid for governor of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Monday, by announcing his extra-terrestrial plans for the island, should he be elec...
» Equality Is the Issue for Puerto Rico
22/04/15 19:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Puerto Rico Report. By now, it is probable that everyone concerned about Puerto Rico’s status has seen , read about, and discussed John Oliver’s take on voting rights in U.S. territories. Julio Ricardo Var...
» 91 in U.S. House Have Sponsored Statehood Bill
22/04/15 19:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Puerto Rico Report. Forty additional members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sponsored the bill to make Puerto Rico a State in 2021 if Puerto Ricans vote for the status again since the bill was f...
» The U.S. Could Oust Puerto Rico’s Governor
22/04/15 19:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Puerto Rico Report. A recent Huffington Post article recognized that the Federal government could remove the governor of Puerto Rico from office — although there is no real chance that it would use t...
» The Puerto Rico Monitor: Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act ...
22/04/15 19:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico statehood - Google Blog Search. Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi announced that fewer than two months after it was introduced, the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Process Act has obtained ...

» 6 Key Pros and Cons of Puerto Rico Statehood | NLCATP.org
22/04/15 19:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico statehood - Google Blog Search. Puerto Rico statehood is a topic that many people are split on. It is not easy to determine if Puerto Rico statehood is the solution to many problems or only the...
» Pros and Cons of Puerto Rico Statehood | Navajo Code Talkers
22/04/15 19:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico statehood - Google Blog Search. This is problematic and worrisome for many people who believe that Puerto Rico should be granted full statehood . What kinds of effects would take place if this ...
» Status of gay marriage in Guam, US territories - Washington Times
22/04/15 19:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico politics - Google News. Washington Times Status of gay marriage in Guam, US territories Washington Times The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said Tuesday it will await that decision...
» The Prison Called Cuba - The Moral Liberal
22/04/15 19:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico politics - Google News. The Prison Called Cuba The Moral Liberal The U.S. had been involved with Cuba from the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898 when Spain ceded Puerto Rico , the Philipp...
» Puerto Rican birth certificates are sold to undocumented immigrants
22/04/15 18:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Puerto Rico News. Six years ago, Puerto Rico passed a law that invalidated all existing birth certificates and required people born on the island to obtain a new "security-enhanced" certificate. U.S. offic...
» Latino Rebels | Puerto Ricans Live Like Kings, Cheat on Social ...
22/04/15 18:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico - Google Blog Search. In addition, all photos listed here are part of the public domain. According to the latest articles on Puerto Rico making the rounds in the U.S. mainstream media in the la...
» Cuba-US thaw brings fate of cold war-era fugitives on the island into focus - The Guardian
22/04/15 18:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rican community in usa - Google News. The Guardian Cuba- US thaw brings fate of cold war-era fugitives on the island into focus The Guardian Morales was a bombmaker for a Puerto Rican nationalist gr...
» Puerto Rico Reaching Tipping Point - The American Interest
22/04/15 18:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rican community in new york - Google Blog Search. These troubles in the territory may be part of what's on New York Fed President William Dudley's mind. Reuters reports that the official, who overse...
» Puerto Rico Debt Default Measure Lacking Support, Lawmaker Says - Bloomberg
22/04/15 18:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Puerto Rico Debt Default Measure Lacking Support, Lawmaker Says Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- A constitutional amendment that would allow Puerto Rico to default on its gener...
» Latin American Herald Tribune - Puerto Rico Ratings Cut by ...
22/04/15 18:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Today's action on the GO rating results in a downgrade of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) senior lien revenue bonds to 'B' from 'B+' and maintained...
» The Puerto Rican Problem - The New Yorker
22/04/15 18:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. The New Yorker The Puerto Rican Problem The New Yorker Puerto Ricans could have been forgiven for thinking the same was true of the island generally. It had been one of...
» Televisión Dominicana Launches on Choice Cable in Puerto Rico - Business Wire (press release)
22/04/15 18:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Televisión Dominicana Launches on Choice Cable in Puerto Rico Business Wire (press release) MIAMI--( BUSINESS WIRE)--On March 27, Televisión Dominicana, the official te...
» Puerto Rico Utility Creditors Offer $2 Billion Capital Plan - Bloomberg
22/04/15 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Bloomberg Puerto Rico Utility Creditors Offer $2 Billion Capital Plan Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Bondholders of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority are offering a plan...
» Bondholders offer $2B boost for Puerto Rico power company
22/04/15 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. A group of U.S. bondholders on Wednesday offered to invest $2 billion in energy production and other measures that it said would help improve the finances and infrastru...
» Puerto Rico approves law to crack down on tax evasion - New Zealand Herald
22/04/15 18:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Huffington Post Puerto Rico approves law to crack down on tax evasion New Zealand Herald SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) " Puerto Rico's governor has signed a law that ...
» Is Puerto Rico Heading For A Crash? | Seeking Alpha
22/04/15 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Puerto Rico's economy is sinking fast. S&P, Fitch and Moody's downgraded Puerto Rico debt. Puerto Rico bonds are facing potential default or restructuring. If Puert...
» How to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis - MiamiHerald.com
22/04/15 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. MiamiHerald.com How to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis MiamiHerald.com Together with the faltering economy , the size of the debt and the junk bond status of govern...
» Feds Consider Puerto Ricans Disabled Because They Speak Spanish - Washington Free Beacon
22/04/15 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Washington Free Beacon Feds Consider Puerto Ricans Disabled Because They Speak Spanish Washington Free Beacon “We found the Agency did not make exceptions regarding the...
» Puerto Ricans Getting Disability Checks Because They Don't Speak English - Investor's Business Daily (blog)
22/04/15 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. VICE News Puerto Ricans Getting Disability Checks Because They Don't Speak English Investor's Business Daily (blog) The IG's office says it couldn't get a definitive nu...
» Expansion of Disability Fraud Under Obama: Puerto Ricans ...
22/04/15 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. MISH'S Global Economic Trend Analysis .... The US Social Security Administration has been offering disability benefits to Spanish speakers living in Puerto Rico based o...
» Why Chapter 9 for Puerto Rico is a bad idea - The Hill (blog)
22/04/15 18:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Why Chapter 9 for Puerto Rico is a bad idea The Hill (blog) The economic and financial situation in Puerto Rico continues to worsen, and the weakest link in the debtor ...
» Is Puerto Rico on the Brink of Economic Disaster? | Global ...
22/04/15 18:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. However, one of the solutions proposed by Puerto Rico's Governor Alejandro García Padilla is a VAT initiative supposedly to “lower tax rates” for 800,000 small business...
» Treasury Officials Increase Efforts With Finances of Puerto Rico - New York Times
22/04/15 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. New York Times Treasury Officials Increase Efforts With Finances of Puerto Rico New York Times Antonio Weiss, the former Wall Street banker who became a top adviser to ...
» Chinese business delegation seeks investment opportunities in Puerto Rico - Fox News Latino
22/04/15 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Chinese business delegation seeks investment opportunities in Puerto Rico Fox News Latino A group of investors from China is touring southern Puerto Rico in search of b...
» Puerto Rico Set to Become Medical Tourism Hub - Huffington Post
22/04/15 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Puerto Rico Set to Become Medical Tourism Hub Huffington Post As I've said before, Puerto Rico's legitimacy as a major destination for business is often tarnished by it...
» Puerto Rico's dilemma - The Hill (blog)
22/04/15 18:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Puerto Rico's dilemma The Hill (blog) These are crucial weeks for the fragile economy of Puerto Rico , a United States territory. The current administration of Governor...
» Latin American Herald Tribune - Chinese Business ...
22/04/15 18:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. SAN JUAN – A group of investors from China is touring southern Puerto Rico in search of business opportunities. “Our relationship may be quite fruitful,” Li Shutang, wh...
» Puerto Rico woos the rich but so far gains little
22/04/15 18:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . DORADO, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Robb Rill grins. He has just had word that U.S. financial regulators have finally closed Puerto Rico's ailing lender Doral Financial, a stock he has been sho...
» Puerto Rico woos the rich but so far gains little - Reuters
22/04/15 18:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PR Economy and Business News Review. Reuters Puerto Rico woos the rich but so far gains little Reuters But the Doral transactions serve to symbolize Puerto Rico's challenge of ensuring that the tax breaks ...
» Stop Letting the Rich Move to Puerto Rico as a Tax Haven
22/04/15 18:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Responses to The Worst Tax Breaks. Edward Kleinbard , a professor of law at the Gould School of Law of the University of Southern California, served as chief of staff of the Congress’ Joint Committee...
» Stop Letting the Rich Move to Puerto Rico as a Tax Haven - New York Times
22/04/15 18:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from political status of puerto rico - Google News. Stop Letting the Rich Move to Puerto Rico as a Tax Haven New York Times The law here is clear, and the only risks are political (that Congress or the Puerto R...
» Puerto Rico Bleeding Doctors to US Mainland - PanAm Post
22/04/15 18:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from political status of puerto rico - Google News. PanAm Post Puerto Rico Bleeding Doctors to US Mainland PanAm Post Luis Dávila, a lawyer and leading political commentator in Puerto Rico , told the PanAm Post...
» Could The Federal Government Remove The Governor Of Puerto Rico
22/04/15 18:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from political status of puerto rico - Google Blog Search. "Unless Congress revokes the 1947 and 1952 laws [ Puerto Rico's Constitution], the president (acting on behalf of Congress) does not have the power to ...
» Documentary Studies Armed Rebellion in Puerto Rico 65 Years Ago
22/04/15 18:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from political status of puerto rico - Google Blog Search. However, the thesis made no mention of the uprising on Oct. 30, 1950, in response to the move to make Puerto Rico a Free Associated State of the United...
» Puerto Rican Residents Entitled To Disability Benefits Because They ...
22/04/15 18:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from political status of puerto rico - Google Blog Search. Politics . Puerto Rican Residents Entitled To Disability Benefits Because They Don't Speak English. 18.9 k. Tweet this article. Share this article. By ...
» Treasury Officials Increase Efforts With Finances of Puerto Rico
22/04/15 17:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Puerto Rico. The efforts indicate that the island’s financial fiscal problems, which have been simmering for years, are reaching a critical point.
» The Many Faces of Puerto Rico
22/04/15 17:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Puerto Rico. Gallery openings, vibrant restaurants, hotel development and preserved examples of the old way of life play well together in Puerto Rico.
» Report: Cuba Backs Hezbollah, Narcoterrorists, US Fugitive Killers - Newsmax
22/04/15 17:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Geopolitical Aspects PR Political Status. Channel 4 News Report: Cuba Backs Hezbollah, Narcoterrorists, US Fugitive Killers Newsmax There is also William Morales, "the master bomb-maker of the Puerto ...
» U.S. officials, Royal Canadian Navy to announce details of record drug ... - Ottawa Citizen
22/04/15 17:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Geopolitical Aspects PR Political Status. Ottawa Citizen U.S. officials, Royal Canadian Navy to announce details of record drug ... Ottawa Citizen OP CARIBBE is an ongoing international task force aimed at...
» Obama Is Using Cuba To Counter Russia, Iran, And China's Growing Influence ... - Forbes
22/04/15 17:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Geopolitical Aspects PR Political Status. Forbes Obama Is Using Cuba To Counter Russia , Iran, And China's Growing Influence ... Forbes After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, US foreign policy shifted and gave li...
» Puerto Rico exports its addicts to Chicago - The Gate News
22/04/15 17:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Geopolitical Aspects PR Political Status. The Gate News Puerto Rico exports its addicts to Chicago The Gate News The men told me they were from Puerto Rico . They were addicted to heroin and they ended up ...
» Speech by Raúl Castro at the Summit of the Americas - Liberation
22/04/15 17:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Geopolitical Aspects PR Political Status. Liberation Speech by Raúl Castro at the Summit of the Americas Liberation I thank all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean for their solidarity, which ...
» Meet Flakka, The Dangerous New Drug Sweeping Florida
22/04/15 17:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Conservative News and Views on Puerto Rico. Originally posted on TIME : Its effects can be as potent as crystal meth, bath salts or cocaine. It causes people to act erratically, uncontrollably and dangerou...
» China, Russia building towards war with US and Puerto Rico
22/04/15 17:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Conservative News and Views on Puerto Rico. There has been an interesting flood of news regarding military developments between east and west during the last several weeks.  None of that news is good and h...
» Social Security’s criminal contempt for Puerto Rico
22/04/15 17:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Conservative News and Views on Puerto Rico. A lot has been said about the recent news reports about Puerto Ricans being arrested for Social Security Disability fraud .  That investigation and those arrests...
» Puerto Rico News: Seven Undocumented Immigrants Apprehended in Puerto Rico - Latin Post
22/04/15 17:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from puerto rico news - Google News. Latin Post Puerto Rico News : Seven Undocumented Immigrants Apprehended in Puerto Rico Latin Post U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended seven Dominicans attem...

Puerto Rico News: Puerto Rico: This UFO obsessed governor hopeful ha...

Puerto Rico News: Puerto Rico: This UFO obsessed governor hopeful ha...: Puerto Rico: This UFO obsessed governor hopeful has extra-terrestrial plans for Puerto Rico - YouTube Wednesday April 22 nd , 2015  ...

Puerto Rico News: » Pros and Cons of Puerto Rico Statehood | Navajo ...

Puerto Rico News: » Pros and Cons of Puerto Rico Statehood | Navajo ...: China, Russia building towards war with US and Puerto Rico by worleyf Wednesday April 22 nd , 2015  at  4:53 PM Conservative ...

Thursday, April 9, 2015

NEWS: In Search of Obama Doctrine - My definition: Speak...

NEWS: In Search of Obama Doctrine - My definition: Speak...: Iran and the Obama Doctrine -  NYT The Incredible Obama Doctrine - WSJ :  "Speak softly and claim to carry a big stick, which ...

"One Love" - but no singing "Kumbaya" Doctrine or Obama in Jamaica: "Push it, push it some more..." and b.t.w., someone did shot the sheriff...



Bob Marley - One Love


Uploaded on Apr 20, 2010
One love, One heart
Let's get together and feel all right
Hear the children crying (One Love)

Obama, in Jamaica, Seeks to Reassert U.S. Influence in Caribbean

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KINGSTON, Jamaica — President Obama is expected to use a meeting of Caribbean nations on Thursday to try to reassert American influence in the region and press its leaders to pursue alternative energy solutions that would loosen their reliance on oil from Venezuela.
Mr. Obama and Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz arrived here Wednesday night, ahead of a day of meetings focused on trade and energy use and production in the Caribbean basin.
The gathering is a prelude to a larger meeting of Latin American nations, the Summit of the Americas, which opens Friday in Panama City. Mr. Obama’s push to normalize relations with Cuba, and tensions with Venezuela, are likely to overshadow a crowded policy agenda there.
Both stops this week are efforts by the president to improve relations and strengthen American engagement with smaller and less wealthy neighbors in the hemisphere. The push for stronger Caribbean ties comes as an economic crisis intensifies in Venezuela, whose subsidized oil is used by most Caribbean countries.
American officials say they are eager to work with Caribbean partners — 14 of whom will participate in meetings with Mr. Obama on Thursday — on alternative energy solutions. They also want to demonstrate a commitment to a region they concede has sometimes felt ignored by the United States.
Mr. Obama, the first American president to visit Jamaica since 1982, will also meet on Thursday with Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and he will hold a town hall-style meeting with young people before departing for Panama.
The Caribbean outreach comes amid strained relations between the Obama administration and President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, who has reacted angrily to an executive order by Mr. Obama that froze assets of midlevel officials in his government suspected of human rights abuses or violations of due process.
The order described Venezuela as a threat to United States national security, a charge that senior American officials have recently tried to soften, arguing that it was merely pro forma language that accompanies any such sanctions.
Mr. Maduro says he has collected millions of signatures on a petition calling for the sanctions to be lifted, and that he will deliver the document to Mr. Obama during the summit meeting. A top State Department official made an unexpected trip on Wednesday to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, for a round of diplomatic maneuvering before the regional meeting begins on Friday.
But the dispute could nevertheless play out at the gathering, where Mr. Obama is hoping to highlight his move toward détente with Cuba and a corresponding tightening of ties throughout Latin America.
The dynamics are less complicated in Jamaica, where Ms. Simpson-Miller was waiting Wednesday night at the foot of Air Force One to embrace Mr. Obama upon his arrival in Kingston. Before turning in for the night, the president made a brief tour of the Bob Marley Museum, in a large Victorian house adjacent to a palm tree-shaded courtyard with red, yellow and green walls. Mr. Marley’s “One Love” could be heard during Mr. Obama’s visit.
As he took in Marley memorabilia, the president reminisced about his days of listening to the reggae legend.
“I still have all the albums,” Mr. Obama said.






Kumbaya


Uploaded on Sep 6, 2009
Old spiritual hymn song by Mitra
Guitars: Rama Morovati

what's kumbaya mean - GS | kumbaya obama quotes - GS


“The criteria is very straightforward,” Mr. Obama told NPR on Monday. “Is this particular country considered a state sponsor of terrorism — not, do we agree with them on everything, not whether they engage in repressive or authoritarian activities in their own country.”
“I think there’s a real opportunity here, and we are going to continue to move forward on it,” Mr. Obama said of opening relations with Cuba.
Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey and a leading Cuban-American critic of Mr. Obama’s decision to seek normalized relations with Havana, said any decision to remove Cuba’s terrorism designation should receive “close scrutiny by the Congress.”
“A recommendation to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism would represent another significant misstep in a misguided policy, and it is both discouraging and alarming to read about unwarranted pressure from the White House to rush the State Department’s review process,” Mr. Menendez said in a statement on Wednesday.
...
Cuba was first put on the list in 1982 because of its support of leftist insurgents in Latin America.
The most recent State Department report, issued in 2013, said Cuba had “long provided safe haven” to Basque separatists from the group known as ETA and to the FARC rebels in Colombia, and had harbored “fugitives wanted in the United States.” But the report said that Cuba’s ties to ETA had become “more distant” and that the nation was trying to broker a peace deal between FARC and Colombia’s government.


Obama Takes His Hopes for Cuba to Summit Meeting

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WASHINGTON — President Obama’s push for a historic opening with Cuba faces its first major test this week as he travels to a summit meeting in Latin America, where he hopes to highlight momentum toward ending a half-century of isolation from the island nation.
Even before Mr. Obama boarded Air Force One on Wednesday, White House officials signaled that the administration was nearing a decision on whether to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. That left open the possibility that he could use the Summit of the Americas in Panama to clear a major sticking point in the effort to restore diplomatic ties between Washington and Havana.
The move would pave the way for the reopening of embassies that have been closed for over 50 years, a crucial step in the easing of tensions between the United States and Cuba that Mr. Obama announced in December.
Mr. Obama will travel first to Jamaica before going to Panama for the summit meeting, which begins Friday. Cuba is attending the meeting for the first time since being expelled from the Organization of American States in 1962 at the behest of the United States. Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba will face each other in official meetings for the first time, interacting at summit events and on the sidelines of the gathering.
Although White House aides said no formal one-on-one meeting between the two men was scheduled, top Cuban and American officials are expected to hold talks, building on months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations. And with or without any change in the terrorism designation, the meeting will offer a stage for a powerful moment and some closely watched body language.
“When you have two countries that haven’t really spoken to each other like this in over 50 years, you have a lot of issues to work through,” said Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser.
Mr. Rhodes said the State Department, which oversees the list of state sponsors of terrorism, “is likely in the final stages” of reviewing Cuba’s inclusion in it at the president’s direction.
Mr. Obama strongly suggested this week that he was inclined to remove the designation, which has limited Cuba’s access to banking services around the world and, more symbolically, relegated the nation to a rogues’ gallery that includes Iran, Sudan and Syria.
“The criteria is very straightforward,” Mr. Obama told NPR on Monday. “Is this particular country considered a state sponsor of terrorism — not, do we agree with them on everything, not whether they engage in repressive or authoritarian activities in their own country.”
“I think there’s a real opportunity here, and we are going to continue to move forward on it,” Mr. Obama said of opening relations with Cuba.
Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey and a leading Cuban-American critic of Mr. Obama’s decision to seek normalized relations with Havana, said any decision to remove Cuba’s terrorism designation should receive “close scrutiny by the Congress.”
“A recommendation to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism would represent another significant misstep in a misguided policy, and it is both discouraging and alarming to read about unwarranted pressure from the White House to rush the State Department’s review process,” Mr. Menendez said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mr. Obama’s trip, during which he will discuss energy cooperation with Caribbean nations in Jamaica and visit the Panama Canal, is emerging as a crucial milestone in his effort to turn the page on a Cold War-era grudge that his advisers say has led to policies that are ineffectual and harmful to American interests.
“It made no sense that the United States consistently essentially made the decision to isolate ourselves from the rest of the Americas because we were clinging to a policy that wasn’t working,” Mr. Rhodes said. “We would anticipate that this does help begin to remove a significant impediment to having a more constructive engagement in the hemisphere, because we demonstrated an openness to engage all the countries in the Americas, to include Cuba.”
Julissa Reynoso, who was a top State Department official in charge of Cuba policy from 2009 to 2012, said, “When I was involved, having one or two meetings with Cuban government officials per year was a significant event, so the fact that these folks are talking continuously is in itself an important thing.”
But Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona and a leading proponent of re-establishing ties with Cuba, said he thought that Mr. Obama would have acted by now to remove Cuba from the terrorism list. “Movement on that front would really signal that we’re pushing ahead,” Mr. Flake said in an interview, adding that the opening of embassies could not be far behind.
Ms. Reynoso, a partner at the law firm Chadbourne & Parke who is a former ambassador to Uruguay, said the Cuba opening could be a game changer for American relationships throughout Latin America.
“It’s an important historical moment for the entire region,” she said. “Folks are going to be very focused on the body language, the gestures, any form of contact” between Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro.
If Mr. Obama recommends that Cuba be removed from the terrorism list, he will have to send a report to Congress certifying that Cuba has not supported international terrorism in the last six months. Congress would have 45 days to review the removal of the designation, and it could either do nothing, in effect allowing the removal to occur, or try to block it with a joint resolution.
Cuba was first put on the list in 1982 because of its support of leftist insurgents in Latin America.