he dramatic announcement of the re-establishment of U.S. relations with communist Cuba after more than five decades came after Pope Francis and President Obama discussed Cuba at their most recent meeting, which was followed by a Vatican-hosted meeting between U.S. and Cuban officials, the White House told reporters Wednesday.
The White House believes the normalizing of diplomatic relations with the island nation would not have happened without the involvement of Pope Francis, the first Catholic pontiff from Latin America.
Administration officials explained to reporters that while congressional leaders had been consulted, the Obama administration does not anticipate Congress will reverse the laws establishing the embargo aimed at ousting the communist Castro regime....