Inside the crazy back-channel negotiations that revolutionized our relationship with Cuba

How wild did things get? Secret missives, the pope, and artificial insemination wild. By Peter Kornbluh and William H. Leogrande.

Kerry, presiding over U.S. flag ceremony in Cuba, urges political change

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared a new era in relations as he celebrated restored diplomatic ties in Havana on Friday, but he also urged political change in Cuba, telling Cubans they should be free to choose their own leaders.

www.reuters.com
Pentagon blocking Guantánamo deals to return Shaker Aamer and other cleared detainees

Pentagon chief and top officials playing ‘foot-dragging games’ despite 2013 agreement with UK diplomats and Obama’s promise to close facility. By Spencer Ackerman.

www.theguardian.com
Detainees' lawyers question Obama commitment to close Guantanamo

Before midnight on Friday, President Barack Obama's Justice Department is due to either block or accept a legal request to free a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who weighs 74 pounds (33.5 kg) after an eight-year hunger strike. By David Rohde.

www.reuters.com
Hunger-Striking Detainee Tests Obama’s Will to Close Guantánamo

Since the age of 23, Tariq Ba-Odah has been detained at the U.S. prison facility at Guantánamo Bay. Never charged with a crime, Ba-Odah went on hunger strike eight years ago to protest his indefinite detention, as well as the brutal treatment he is alleged to have suffered... By Murtaza Hussain.

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