There was no hint in December 2013, when President Barack Obama shook hands with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro, that something bigger was afoot between the U.S. and its Cold War nemesis.
Their encounter at a memorial service in Johannesburg for South African leader Nelson Mandela happened as Obama strode through the dignitaries’ area. While the event created media buzz, it was dismissed at the time by Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, as nothing more than a handshake.
What the world didn’t know was that secret negotiations had already been under way for months, with Obama pursuing a deal to change the most fraught diplomatic relationship in the Western Hemisphere. And the man leading the talks? Rhodes, who’s one of Obama’s most trusted aides.
“These 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked,” Obama said in Washington on Wednesday as he announced the rapprochement. “It’s time for a new approach.”
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