The U.S. flag was raised above the American Embassy in Havana on Friday for the first time since 1961.

“President (Barack) Obama and President (Raul) Castro made a courageous decision to stop being the prisoners of history and to focus on the opportunities of today and tomorrow”, he said.

But, he warned Cuba’s communist leaders, “the United States will always remain a champion of democratic principles and reforms”.

He says the goal now is to move toward a “full normalization” and it’s important to fully lift the U.S. embargo of Cuba, a step bitterly opposed by many conservatives in U.S. Congress. It is the first time the Stars and Stripes has flown there in 54 years, since the US broke diplomatic ties with the nation.

“There will be tensions between Cubans on the island and those in Miami”, Taylor said.

The embassy opening “is a government-to-government moment – with very limited space, by the way – which is why we are having the reception later in the day, in which we can have a cross-section of civil society, including some dissidents”, Kerry said.

And now US secretary of state has visited the island just across the Florida Straits since 1945.

However, Kerry said not to expect changes overnight.

Thousands of Cubans gathered outside of the embassy, some holding American and Cuban flags together as they celebrated the historic occasion.

The Cuban network also informed viewers that Mr Kerry “is a Roman Catholic, likes bicycling, surfing and windsurfing”.

The U.S. and Cuba severed relations in 1961, two years after Castro seized power.

Cuban television switched from cartoons to live coverage of the U.S. embassy flag-raising, and broadcast Kerry’s arrival at Havana’s Jose Marti airport.

She said global trade is one of the driving forces for Mobile’s economy, and although the embargo against Cuba hasn’t changed… Though the U.S. embassy reopened its doors, Cubans are still not allowed to buy goods from the United States. “More democracy, elections, we hope for that to come with this diplomatic opening”.

The Community looks forward to even more positive action in this regard and in particular tothe United States Congress removing the out-dated and unjust trade and economic embargo against Cuba.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro said, in an open letter released on Thursday, the US owed millions of dollars to Cuba as a result of the 53-year-long embargo.

While the tone in U.S.-Cuban relations has improved greatly since detente was announced in December, the blunt statements and rebukes underscored how far the two countries are from normal relations after decades of hostilities that outlived the Cold War.