Presidents Castro, Obama Hold Press Conference in Havana

This is a new day in U.S.-Cuban relations, President Obama said Monday, as he noted that "for more than half a century, the sight of a U.S. president here in Havana would have been unimaginable."

Cuban President Raul Castro agreed, but he said real progress depends on the United States ending its 54-year embargo of Cuba's economy. "Much more could be done if the U.S. blockade were lifted," he said.

"We have observed over the last 15 months that have passed since we resumed diplomatic relations some concrete results," Castro said. Still, he added, "there are profound differences between our countries that will not go away."

Obama agreed that relations between the United States and Cuba "will not be transformed overnight." He said the United States will continue to push for more democracy in Cuba and improved human rights.

During questions after the meeting, Castro said he would release political prisoners if he was presented with a list of names.

"We continue to move forward on many fronts when it comes to normalizing relations," Obama said. "Despite the difficulty, we will continue to move forward."

Obama repeatedly said that he welcomed criticism of the United States from Castro and other Cuban leaders, which he called a sign of progress and that the two nations can speak candidly.

In response to whether he would prefer Republican candidate Donald Trump or former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, Castro said "I can not vote in the United States."

Human rights, Obama said, does not have to be the only issue U.S. and Cuban leaders discuss in the future, "but this is something we're going to stay on."

Obama and Castro's meeting Monday was their third face-to-face encounter since the two countries began to normalize relations 15 months ago, but it was the first on Castro's home turf and the first visit of a U.S. president to the island in 88 years.

Castro said while differences remain between the two countries, Obama's visit was a key part toward building a new and positive relationship with the United States. Ties between the two nations started to fray in early 1959, when Castro's brother, Fidel, took power after a revolution ousted the former dictator Fulgencio Batista.

The United States then backed an unsuccessful invasion by Cuban exiles in April 1961 and started the economic embargo in February 1962.

Obama said the leaders deepened agricultural ties with Cuba. "With only 90 miles between us, we are natural trading partners," Obama said. He echoed Castro's call for Congress to end the embargo.

Before their meeting, Obama and Castro reviewed an honor guard at the Palace of the Revolution and listened to the national anthems of both countries. Their two back-to-back meetings were the most extensive high-level talks between the United States and Cuba in decades. The first was one-on-one, with only translators, security and perhaps a close aide in the room. Afterward, the meeting was expanded to include top diplomats in both delegations.

While the United States has agreed to allow direct flights to Cuba, the Cuban government needs to do more, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who is part of a bipartisan congressional delegation that traveled with Obama.

"There have been some baby steps taken when it comes to the economy and the release of dissidents. More has to happen on the Cuban side," Klobuchar said.
President Obama greets Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on March 21, 2016.  Michael Reynolds, European Pressphoto Agency

Obama and Castro have met twice before: first at the Pan-American summit in Panama and again at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. There have been no plans announced for Castro to visit Washington.

Obama began the day with a wreath laying at a memorial to Jose Marti, the turn-of-the-century Cuban nationalist leader considered a unifying figure in Cuban history.

"It is a great honor to pay tribute to Jose Marti, who gave his life for independence of his homeland," Obama wrote in the guest book at the Marti memorial."His passion for liberty, freedom, and self-determination lives on in the Cuban people today."

After the meeting with Castro, Obama will participate in an entrepreneurship summit hosted by broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien. The Obama administration wants to boost the emerging cuentapropistas who are increasingly making a living independent of government-owned enterprises.