gross later gave a press conference accompanied by his wife of 44 years, judy. what a blessing it is to be a citizen of this country and thank you, president obama, for everything that you have done. to me, cubanos or at least most of them are incredibly kind, generous and talented. it pains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments mutually belligerent policies. 5 1/2 decades of history show us that such belligerence inhibits better judgment. two wrongs never make a right. those 5 1/2 decades end today with a historic deal that came after a 45-minute call recently between president obama and castro following nearly a year of secret talks between the american and cuban representative that occurred in canada. after intervention by, wow, yes,
the american people in the long-term. when i was a president, as you just mentioned, we started the diplomatic relations process and we established major intersections in both havana and also washington. in cuba two or three years ago, we had diplomats serves in the intersection of havana. i think that will continue no matter what happens. the normal diplomatic relations will continue and i hope congress goes ahead to remove the embargo and the sanctions because that doesn t hurt the castro brothers. it hurts the people of cuba who had to suffer because of our own imposed economic sanctions. i think this is a good move for both cubans and americans and a major step forward for more freedom and more democracy and respect for human rights in cuba as well. critics of this say, as you know, if it alleviates the
right to travel where we want to go. we re the only ones who can t go to cuba. anywhere else in the world, you can go to cuba. this has been a restraint on americans as well as it has been on the cubans. former president jimmy carter, thank you very much for your time. i appreciate you being with us. thank you. pope francis will tell you how he was involved ahead. the high performance gti. looks like we re gonna need a bigger podium. the volkswagen golf family. motor trend s 2015 cars of the year. i was out for a bike ride. i didn t think i d have a heart attack. but i did. i m mike, and i m very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.
today there is new hope that cuba and the united states might just begin mending a prone relationship. it all began with the release of an aid worker, alan gross. a officially he was released often humanitarian grounds but it was part of a bigger prisoner exchange between the u.s. and cuba. to me, cubanos, or at least most of them, are incredibly kind, generous and talented. it mains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments mutually belligerent policies. the deal had been in the works for months but it wasn t
i don t think it should have been done more gradually. i don t think the conditions set on changing the government in cuba should have been clearer and, in fact, the change should have been required to be immediate. elections, free speech, free assembly, labor union, everything that cubans are forbidden to have right now. that should have been a precondition for any change in relations. and what about ordinary cuban citizens? surely this deal with cuba is going to be a massive benefit with them. do you think the trickle down effect and the economic benefit for ordinary cubans, how long do you think it will all take? i don t think it will ever happen. it hasn t happened in the last 56 years. canada, all of europe, the