US Congress would have to vote on the issue.

Protesters dotted the crowd, and one was removed from the area by police.

Mr Obama's efforts to engage Cuba were partly held back by the country's imprisonment of US Agency for International Development contractor Alan Gross, who was jailed for espionage charges. Secret negotiations led to Mr Gross's release last yearvirtual office.

Restrictions on Americans wanting to travel to Cuba remain in place, as does the wider US trade embargo banning most American companies from doing business in Cubareenex cps
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Cuba says the embargo - which it calls a blockade - is hugely damaging to its economy.

President Raul Castro has urged President Barack Obama to lift it, calling it the main stumbling block towards normalisations. But the US Congress would have to vote on the issue.

The two presidents announced the move towards diplomatic ties in December last yearreenex cps.