President Barack Obama begins historic trip to Cuba

Stepping into history, President Barack Obama opened an extraordinary visit to Cuba yesterday, eager to push decades of acrimony deeper into the past and forge irreversible ties with America’s former adversary.

Obama’s whirlwind trip is a crowning moment in his and Cuban president Raul Castro’s ambitious effort to restore normal relations between their countries.

While deep differences persist, the economic and political relationship has changed rapidly in the 15 months since the leaders vowed a new beginning.