HAVANA (WSVN) — President Obama is scheduled to visit Havana this weekend and crews are cleaning and beautifying the country for his arrival, but there will also be parts of the island nation he will not be seeing.
The president is set to touch down in Cuba around 5 p.m. Sunday, and 7News has a look at his presidential plans, as well as what he won’t be seeing.
Obama will only be in Cuba for three days and has a clear idea of a few sights he plans to avoid during his trip.
When President Obama visits, he will likely take a drive along Havana’s iconic Malecon.
There has been a lot of sprucing up all over the city for his visit, and even he has acknowledged in interviews that all the countries he visits do their best to look their best. Eight months ago, one cathedral was completely obscured by scaffolding, but on Friday, it is ready and picture perfect for the president’s visit on Sunday.
Around one part, Old Havana is clean and beautiful. However in some parts of Old Havana, buildings can be seen with trees growing out of the sides, with scaffolding rusted out, crumbling walls and streets falling apart. These are the places that are in need of desperate attention and repair.
A lot of changes, however, have been made since the U.S. Embassy reopened in Havana last summer. President Obama said that on this trip, he will be meeting with dissidents, but he will not see the firsthand account of how they are treated by the hands of the Castro government. He will not see the more than 8,000 people reportedly arrested or detained by the government since 2015.
The president will likely also see people huddled around their smartphone as he drives through the city. In the U.S., Americans have Internet access all the time. However, in Cuba, people need to go to a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Most people don’t have the luxury of the Internet at home. "Our country is working on it to make it better for us to use the service and make it faster," said Luesmer Noa, through a translator. "Maybe even use it from home."
Of course, President Obama has his critics, but the whole reason for changing relations with Cuba is to open up the lines of communication, like more Internet access, direct mail and direct flights. With all of that, Obama is hoping to get more investment from both the U.S. and around the world.