Mexico City – Jimmy Carter and Calvin Coolidge have at least one thing in common: they are the only two US presidents to have visited Cuba since 1928.
But Mr. Carter is the sole president – sitting or past – to have visited the island nation since Fidel Castro took power in 1959, putting the restive peacemaker in a unique position to help thaw the 52-year-old freeze between the US and Cuba, which he attempted this week on a three-day trip to Havana.
Unlike Carter’s first visit in 2002 – when there was little hope that relations would improve while President George W. Bush was in office – this visit takes place in the context of President Obama’s efforts to engage with Cuba by easing restrictions on travel and remittances. That provides a unique opportunity for Carter to leverage his relationship with the Castro brothers to solve one of Washington’s most
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