President Barack Obama arrived in Cuba Sunday for a historic visit to the island and talks with its communist leader.
He is the first sitting US president to visit since the 1959 revolution, which heralded decades of hostility.
Speaking at the reopened US embassy in Havana, he called the visit “historic”. He also spent time in the old city.
Mr Obama will meet President Raul Castro, but not retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, and the pair will discuss trade and political reform.
The US president emerged smiling from Air Force One with First Lady Michelle and their daughters Sasha and Malia.
Holding umbrellas, the party walked in light drizzle along a red carpet to be greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
Two hours after landing, Mr Obama greeted staff from the US embassy with the words: “It is wonderful to be here”.
“Back in 1928, President [Calvin] Coolidge came on a battleship. It took him three days to get here; it only took me three hours. For the first time ever, Air Force One has landed in Cuba and this is our very first stop.”
He added the trip was a chance to for him to lay out a “vision for a future that is brighter than our past”.
“Having a US embassy means we’re more effectively able to advance our values, our interests and understand more effectively.”
He added: ‘I’m so glad you brought your families here because I always like taking pictures with kids. Their future is what we all work for so hard and I’m so grateful to all of you for making it happen.’
The U.S. operated out of the embassy during the detente between the US and the Castro regime from 1977 until the summer of 2015, but it was under the authority of the Swiss government, which served as the protecting power.
It officially assumed the role of the United States’ mission in Cuba on July 20, 2015, when diplomatic ties were formally restored.
The Obamas later began a walkabout in historic Old Havana.
The tour was meant to see them interacting with ordinary Cubans on the streets, but this part of the itinerary was marred by a tropical storm.
They huddled under umbrellas before visiting the national cathedral.
Obama’s visit is the highpoint of a recent easing of ties, which included the opening of embassies last year.
But only hours before his arrival, protesters calling for the release of political prisoners were arrested in the capital, Havana.
Police took away dozens of demonstrators from the Ladies in White group, formed of political prisoners’ wives, from outside a church where they attempt to hold weekly protests.
There has been a rapid thaw in US-Cuba relations in recent years
Before President Obama arrived, US and Cuban officials got into tense discussions on the tarmac over security questions – and how close Cuban photographers could get to Mr Obama after he arrived.
Speaking through an interpreter, the Americans tried to set strict boundaries for the photographers – a sign that even under the most friendly circumstances, officials from the two countries run into conflicts.
As Mr Obama spoke to US and Cuban officials, a photographer took pictures. A few minutes later, another US official rushed towards Mr Obama and his family members and gestured for the photographer to step back.
Afterwards the presidential motorcade left the airport, and two of the vehicles were decorated with US and Cuban flags.
People stood on the side of the road near the airport as the motorcade passed by – some of the Cubans at the side of the road waved at the Americans in the cars.
The visit – the first by a sitting US president for 88 years – marks a huge turnaround in US-Cuban relations.
The 54-year-old US economic embargo of Cuba is still in place and can only be lifted by a vote in Congress. Meanwhile, Cuba still complains about the occupation of the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
Obama and Castro agreed in December 2014 to end decades of frozen relations that began when Cuba’s revolution overthrew a pro-US government.
Since 2014 there have been commercial deals on telecoms and a scheduled airline service, increased co-operation on law enforcement and environmental protection.
On Wednesday Mr Obama sent a letter on the first direct mail flight from the US to Cuba since the revolution.
And on Sunday, US hotel company Starwood become the first American firm to agree a deal with the Cuban authorities since 1959
