HAVANA: US lawmakers visiting Havana voiced hope Monday that historic talks between US and Cuban officials this week will mark a "new era" of relations, ending decades of Cold War-era hostility.
The six-member delegation of congressional Democrats, led by Senator Patrick Leahy, met Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez as well as dissidents and Cardinal Jaime Ortega during their two-day visit.
Their trip preceded talks on Wednesday and Thursday between Cuban officials and the highest-ranking US delegation to visit Havana since the 1980s.
The meeting will be the first since the historic announcements in December by US President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro that their countries will normalize ties that broke off in 1961.
As the two nations get closer, one person has been noticeably quiet: the 88-year-old retired leader Fidel Castro has not reacted publicly to the rapprochement, sparking speculation about his health.
"This is historic. We were frozen in the same foreign policy with Cuba for over 50 years," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said at the end of the two-day visit.
"Finally this president came to the realization that that policy wasn't serving the best interests of the United States, of Cuba, or of the world," he said. "Now we are moving toward a new era."
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