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Published on 22 March by Granma.

raul and obama

The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, set off from Havana’s José Martí International Airport aboard the Air Force One plane this Tuesday afternoon, bringing his official visit to Cuba, which began on Sunday March 20, to an end.

He was accompanied and bid farewell at the airport by the President of the Councils of State and Ministers Raúl Castro Ruz.

Obama will now travel to Argentina to meet with his counterpart Mauricio Macri.

During his visit to the island, the U.S. President, together with his accompanying delegation, toured sites in Old Havana including the Plaza de Armas, the Captain Generals' Palace and the Cathedral of Havana, accompanied by City Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler.

On the morning of Monday, March 21, Barack Obama paid tribute to Cuba’s national hero, José Martí, laying a floral wreath to the monument in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, and held official talks with the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz. Following the talks, both presidents offered statements to the press, which received wide international media coverage.

Later on, Obama participated in the Cuba-U.S. Business Forum, where he exchanged with Cuban workers from both the state and non-state sectors.

On the final day of his visit, the U.S. President addressed the Cuban people from Havana’s Alicia Alonso Grand Theater.

The final activity of his agenda was the baseball game between Cuba’s national team and the Tampa Bay Rays of the U.S. Major League in Havana’s Latinoamericano Stadium, which he attended with his family and legislators and cabinet members of the accompanying delegation.

He enjoyed the beginning of the game alongside President Raúl Castro, who was also accompanied by the President of the National Assembly of People’s Power Esteban Lazo, First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers Miguel Díaz-Canel, and other government officials.

Obama’s visit came 15 months after the announcements regarding the decision to reestablish relations between the two countries on December 17, 2014. This is the first visit by a serving U.S. President since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.