President Obama, Raul Castro's Historic Diplomacy Nearly Derailed by Awkward Handshake
On Saturday, President Obama and his family arrived in Cuba for a historic state visit, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited the island in over ninety years. Cuban citizens rejoiced, Obama made a speech promising better relations between our two countries and, on Monday, one handshake nearly destroyed it all.
It was that bad.
On Monday, the last day of Obama's visit, the president and Cuban President Raul Castro delivered statements to the press. Given the history between the two countries, and the fact that Cuba once had missiles pointed squarely at us, a little shade in the statements was inevitable. Obama called Cuba's record on human rights and democracy a "powerful irritant" to peace between our two nations, and Castro decided to passive-aggressively show his feelings toward the U.S.A. with the awkward handshake to end all awkward handshakes:
Peace. It was nice while it lasted.
(Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)