White House - decision on Obama Cuba trip in next couple months

White House: decision on Obama Cuba trip in next couple months
HONOLULU | BY JEFF MASON

The White House will decide in the next couple months about a potential
trip by President Barack Obama to Cuba and wants both countries to take
steps to ensure the thaw in relations is irreversible, U.S. deputy
national security adviser Ben Rhodes said on Saturday.

Rhodes, who was a key architect of the shift in U.S. strategy to the
island nation, said Washington wanted to see Cuba improve its record on
human rights and spur greater economic activity such as allowing private
companies to operate in the communist country.

Cuba also needed to give its people more access to information and the
Internet, he said.

"The key test for us is whether the president's going to Cuba would help
advance those priorities," Rhodes told reporters in Hawaii, where Obama
is vacationing.

"That's something I think we'll make a decision about ... in the next
couple months."

A trip by a U.S. president would be historic and the White House is
eager to use that leverage to press Cuba to make reforms. Obama has made
clear he is eager to visit the country before he leaves office next year.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Editing by W Simon)

Source: White House: decision on Obama Cuba trip in next couple months |
Reuters - http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cuba-idUSKBN0UG0NW20160102