--- description: President Obama is planning a trip to Cuba as part of his tour of Latin America in March title: President Obama Plans Historic Trip to Cuba image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7368efc16f65139d/69887e24524fc01b58df6d02/gettyimages-510876474.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [diplomacy](/tag/diplomacy/) ## diplomacy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Obama Plans Historic Trip to Cuba by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:06 PM CUTPublished: Feb 18, 2016 3:53 AM CUT  President Barack Obama in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2016 President Barack Obama in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2016Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:06 PM CUTPublished: Feb 18, 2016 3:53 AM CUT President Obama is [planning a trip ](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3ff907989990443ca00ffb93715c272c/president-obama-expected-visit-cuba-march "undefined")to Cuba as part of his tour of Latin America in March, he announced early Thursday, which would make him the first American president to visit the island in almost 90 years and mark a significant step in [the normalization of relations between the two countries](http://time.com/3759629/cuba-us-policy/ "undefined"). The President and First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Cuba from March 21 to 22\. Obama will meet with Cuban President Raul Castro and look to further develop diplomatic and commercial relations with Cuba during his visit, the White House said in a statement. Obama first [floated](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-obama-cuba-trip-idUSKCN0VR09D "undefined") the idea of visiting Cuba in December as part of efforts to normalize ties between Havana and Washington. The Cold War foes [pledged](http://time.com/3637483/alan-gross-cuba-barack-obama/ "undefined") in December 2014 to restore relations after more than a half-century freeze. > [](https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/700320240022921216) As part of the diplomatic thaw, officials [signed a deal](http://time.com/4225511/us-cuba-commercial-flights-deal/ "undefined") on Tuesday opening the skies for commercial flights between the two countries, and [embassies were reopened](http://time.com/3966057/cuban-embassy-reopening/ "undefined") last summer. Despite the headway, commerce remains limited by a U.S. trade embargo. A Presidential visit would mark a turning point in U.S.-Cuba relations and a potential triumph for Obama’s foreign policy legacy. But the plans quickly drew criticism from Republican presidential candidates, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, both the sons of Cuban immigrants. Following the Cuba trip, the Obamas will travel to Argentina and meet with its new president, Mauricio Macri. If he makes the 90-mile hop across the Straits of Florida, Obama will be the first sitting U.S. President to travel to Cuba since [Calvin Coolidge](http://abcnews.go.com/US/president-obama-planning-trip-cuba-month-sources/story?id=37015093 "undefined") in 1928, according to ABC News. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3ff907989990443ca00ffb93715c272c/president-obama-expected-visit-cuba-march "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4228623/president-obama-cuba-trip/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4228623/president-obama-cuba-trip/"},"headline":"President Obama Plans Historic Trip to Cuba","datePublished":"2016-02-18T03:53:49.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T18:06:36.000Z","description":"A significant step in the thaw between the two countries","url":"https://time.com/4228623/president-obama-cuba-trip/","keywords":["diplomacy","Barack Obama","Cuba topic","President Obama","United States","us"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7368efc16f65139d/69887e24524fc01b58df6d02/gettyimages-510876474.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7368efc16f65139d/69887e24524fc01b58df6d02/gettyimages-510876474.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Meets With Tom Donilon And Sam Palmisano In The Oval Office","caption":"President Obama Meets With Tom Donilon And Sam Palmisano In The Oval Office","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/diplomacy/","name":"diplomacy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4228623/president-obama-cuba-trip/","name":"President Obama Plans Historic Trip to Cuba"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Raw: Cuba Comments on Obama's Upcoming Visit","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/03Jl7i8P/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-02-18T17:47:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/03Jl7i8P.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4228623/president-obama-cuba-trip/","duration":"PT22S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4228623/president-obama-cuba-trip/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```