The US and Cuba are opening up embassies in their respective capitals:

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the U.S. and Cuba have struck a deal to open embassies in each other’s capitals and re-establish diplomatic relations for the first time in half a century.

“The progress we make today is another demonstration we don’t have to be imprisoned by the past,” Obama said.

Obama emphasized that the U.S. and Cuba have some shared interests, such as strong anti-terrorism policies and disaster response. But he acknowledged that the two nations still have “very serious differences” on issues like free speech.

“We won’t hesitate to speak out when we see contradiction to those values,” the president said.

According to a statement from the Cuban government, officials are aiming to reopen their embassy on or after July 20. White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told MSNBC that the U.S. will open its embassy in Cuba “shortly after” July 20.

55 years of mean spirited and counter-productive (the Castros still run the place after 55 years of isolation) foreign policy has ended.

The real pity is that it took so long.

I’m looking forward the import of the revolutionary Cuban lung cancer vaccine into the United States.