In Pictures

Cuba and the US, one year of diplomatic ties

The restoration of US and Cuban diplomatic ties has hit the one-year mark after decades of frosty relations.

The Cuban flag was raised over Havana’s embassy in Washington on Monday, July 20, 2015 for the first time in 54 years as the United States and Cuba formally restored relations, opening a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes. [Andrew Harnik/Pool/Reuters]

20 Jul 2016

It has been a year since the US and Cuba restored full diplomatic ties after more than five decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War.

The US broke off ties with Cuban following the 1959 Communist revolution led by former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Successive US governments tried to oust the Cuban leadership, most notably during the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.

The US imposed a trade embargo on Havana in 1962 and in the same year the movement of nuclear missiles from the Soviet Union to Cuba brought the countries close to nuclear war.

Since the restoration of diplomatic relations, the states have signed telecommunication deals and put into place airline services but obstacles remain.

On March 20, 2016, US President Barack Obama was welcomed by cheering crowds in Havana at the start of a historic visit to Cuba that opened a new chapter in US engagement with the island’s government.

A man holding US and Cuban flags stands on the sidewalk ahead of the raising of the flag at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, July 20, 2015. [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Anti-Castro activists protesting in Little Havana in Miami, Florida, July 20, 2015. [Javier Galeano/Reuters]

US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez at the Cuban foreign ministry in Havana, Cuba, August 14, 2015. [Raul Abreu/Reuters]

The Air Force One carrying US President Barack Obama and his family flies over a Havana neighbourhood as it approaches to land at the city's international airport on March 20, 2016. [Alberto Reyes/Reuters]

Crowds in Havana await the arrival of Obama at the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso on March 22, 2016. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]

Obama waves as he arrives to deliver a speech at the Gran Teatro in Havana. [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

Carlos Alvarez, 54, on Obama's historic visit: 'New changes, it was a blessing that he came and God willing the new US president will do the same. Obama is an example.' [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]