WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations and an easing in economic and travel restrictions on Cuba.
The move is being regarded as a historic shift aimed at ending a half-century of Cold War enmity.
"Isolation has not worked," Obama said in remarks from the White House. "It's time for a new approach."
As Obama spoke, Cuban President Raul Castro addressed his own nation from Havana. He said that while profound differences remain between the two nations in such areas as human rights and foreign policy, they must learn to live with those differences "in a civilized manner."
Obama's action marked an abrupt use of U.S. executive authority. However, he cannot unilaterally end the longstanding U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, which was passed by Congress and would require action from lawmakers to overturn.
Tourist travel also remains banned.
Wednesday's announcements followed more than a year of secret talks between the U.S. and Cuba, including clandestine meetings in Canada and the Vatican and personal involvement from Pope Francis. The re-establishment of diplomatic ties was accompanied by Cuba's release of American Alan Gross and the swap of a U.S. spy held in Cuba for three Cubans jailed in Florida.
In a statement, the Vatican said Pope Francis "wishes to express his warm congratulations for the historic decision taken by the governments of the United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic relations, with the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history."
Detainees released
Obama said Gross' five-year imprisonment had been a major obstacle in normalising relations. Gross arrived at an American military base just outside Washington, accompanied by his wife and a handful of U.S. lawmakers. He went immediately into a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry.
As part of resuming diplomatic relations with Cuba, the U.S. will soon reopen an embassy in the capital of Havana and carry out high-level exchanges and visits between the governments.
Cuba also released a non-American U.S. intelligence 'asset' along with Gross. Officials said the spy had been held for nearly 20 years and was responsible for some of the most important counterintelligence prosecutions that the United States has pursed in recent decades. That includes convicted Cuban spies Ana Belen Montes, Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Myers and a group known as the Cuban Five.
Castro agrees
Cuban President Raul Castro told Cubans his nation has agreed to restore relations with the United States, 53 years after diplomatic ties were broken.
Castro spoke in a televised address that coincided with Obama's statement in Washington, saying that while profound differences remain between the two countries, they must learn to live with them "in a civilised manner."
Castro and his brother, Fidel, led the 1959 rebellion that toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The U.S. initially recognised the new government but broke relations in 1961 after Cuba veered sharply to the left and nationalized U.S. owned businesses.
Streets in Havana were calm Wednesday as people gathered around television sets and teachers stopped their midday lessons to listen to the historic news.
In his address, Castro thanked the Vatican and the Canadian government for helping in the negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba.