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A huge Cuban flag in concrete. It will be the new view from the United States Embassy in Havana. The flag dampens hopes of a thaw between countries.
The Cuban flag is being built outside the United States Embassy.
The staff of the United States Embassy in Havana have been given a new perspective.
Where once they could look out into a plaza and then out into the Straits of Florida, they now have part of a chunk of concrete in their field of vision.
But not just any concrete, but a twelve meter high image of the Cuban flag.
“This monumental construction is now on the stage of anti-imperialism: our flag, which is never used for money and in which a lone star shines,” writes the Cuban state construction company Ecom.
The stage in question was built in 2000 for demonstrations against the United States in relation to the then infected diplomatic battle for the Cuban boy Elián González, which was held by relatives in Miami.
The site has previously been used extensively for demonstrations in support of the Cuban government, often targeting the United States. Over the past 15 years, there has also been another art installation, where 138 much smaller Cuban flags are erected as a “monument against terrorism.”
Relations between the United States and Cuba deteriorated during Donald Trump’s time in the White House. Trump retracted several of the agreements to improve contacts between Cuba and the United States under the presidency of Barack Obama.
As one of his latest measures, his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, placed Cuba back on the United States list of countries involved in state-sponsored terrorism, which was seen as an attempt to make it difficult for the government to Joe Biden unfreezes relationships.
Biden has yet to take any official steps to get closer to the island nation. In March, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that “a change of course on Cuba is not one of President Biden’s priorities.”
The question is whether the new flag accelerates the president’s enthusiasm for reaching out.
