Obama Promises to Protect Human Rights While Re-Opening Diplomacy with Cuba

U.S. President Barack Obama recently told a Cuban exiled priest that he will work to protect the human rights of Cuban citizens as the U.S. renews relations with the Caribbean island nation.

The president reportedly spoke with Father Juan Rumin Dominguez last week while visiting the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami, Florida.

As Dominguez recently told the Catholic News Service, he and the president discussed the welfare of the Cuban people in their brief meeting.

Dominguez recently recalled to the Catholic media outlet that "the topic of freedom for Cuba and human rights will always be on the negotiating table with Raul Castro."

The priest, who is the rector of the National Shrine, added to the Catholic media outlet that he saw the president's visit to the shrine and conversation with him as "an honor and a sign that we live in a free country."

The United States recently dropped Cuba from its list of countries supporting terrorism in the latest move to restore diplomacy between the two countries.

U.S. State Department press office director Jeff Rathke recently told reporters that removing Cuba from list of terrorist-supporting countries does not mean that a 1962 economic embargo on the island country has been lifted.

"The lifting of the state sponsor of terrorism designation does not lift the embargo, just to put that kind of bluntly," Rathke said.

Rathke added that there still exists "a web of restrictions and sanctions that have been applied over the years, and some of them are unrelated to the state sponsor of terrorism designation."