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 The White House used the occasion to announce an important step
towards healing its five-decade-old rift with Cuba, saying the State
Department has completed a review of whether to remove the
communist-ruled island from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The review is being studied by the White House, and a green light
for Havana's removal would open the door to the restoration of
diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba after 54
years.
Obama headed to Panama later Thursday to attend a Western Hemisphere
summit, where he will cross paths with Cuban President Raul Castro
for the first time since the two announced a historic opening
between their countries in December.
In Kingston, Caribbean leaders were supportive of U.S. détente with
the region's most populous island nation.
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller praised Obama for his
Cuba outreach, saying: "You are on the right side of history."
As the first U.S. president to visit Kingston since Ronald Reagan in
1982, Obama faces the challenge of convincing Caribbean leaders that
Washington is genuinely re-engaging after a long period of perceived
neglect.
 Obama received a warm reception as crowds assembled along his
motorcade route on Thursday morning to watch and snap photos.
He paid homage to legendary reggae singer Bob Marley immediately
after landing on Wednesday night, making an unannounced stop at the
house in Kingston where the dreadlocked musician lived until his
death in 1981.
A big fan since high school, Obama said the quick tour of the house
was "one of the more fun meetings that I've had since I've been
President."
He later attended a meeting of the 15-member Caribbean Community, or
Caricom, to discuss energy, security and trade.
Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie, Caricom’s current chairman,
complained about illegal gunrunning from the United States to crime
gangs in the Caribbean and said more had to be done to stop it.
Obama's meetings focused on improving energy security and
efficiency, as well as fighting climate change, the White House
said, announcing $20 million in financing to encourage investment in
clean energy projects.
The United States will also partner with Caribbean and Central
American countries on energy sector reform, regional integration and
clean energy projects.
"One of the greatest barriers to development in the Caribbean ... is
expensive, often unreliable and carbon-intensive energy," Obama
said.
"Caribbean countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of
climate change, and we have to act now."
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Some analysts say a key reason why Washington is suddenly paying
attention to the Caribbean is a desire to reduce the islands'
dependence on cut-rate Venezuelan oil that Caracas has used to wield
regional influence.
Many Caricom members participate in Venezuela's discounted
Petrocaribe oil program, but Caracas now finds itself in growing
economic distress due to low oil prices.
"The dependence in the last decade on subsidized oil imports that
are starting to go away will have pretty big macro-economic
effects," said Daniel Restrepo, Obama's former top adviser for Latin
America.
Jamaica's energy minister, Phillip Paulwell, was quoted in local
media as saying any deals with the United States would not mean
Jamaica was distancing itself from Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has made clear he will confront
Obama this week at the Summit of the Americas over new U.S.
sanctions against Venezuelan officials.
While Maduro may try to upstage the rapprochement between Washington
and Havana that threatens to undermine his longstanding alliance
with Castro, he is likely to get push-back from regional leaders who
welcome better U.S.-Cuba relations.
"The thaw between Washington and Cuba trumps all other issues," said
Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank
in Washington. "However close Havana’s ties with Venezuela are, I
don’t think the Cubans want to do anything to upset Obama’s new Cuba
policy."
In Jamaica Obama also launched the Young Leaders of the Americas
Initiative (YLAI) to expand opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs
and civil society activists, with participants from Latin America
and the Caribbean, including Cuba.
(Additonal reporting by Aileen Torres-Bennett in Kingston Writing by
David Adams. Editing by Andrew Hay, Christian Plumb and Ken Wills)
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