America and Cuba to open diplomatic relations

Buzzfeed has an article by a bunch of reporters about the news out of Cuba:

What we know so far: 

The U.S. and Cuba have reached a historic agreement to normalize relations.
America will open an embassy in Havana.
There will be relaxed restrictions on US travelers visiting Cuba, and Americans can return with a limited number of goods, including cigars.
Part of the agreement was the release of Alan Gross, an American held in Cuba for five years on espionage allegations, for humanitarian reasons. Both nations have also exchanged alleged spies who were imprisoned.
The White House credited Pope Francis in bringing the longtime rivals to the negotiating table. Alan Gross thanked President Obama in his remarks, and said he supports the new policies towards Cuba. “What a blessing it to be a citizen of this country and thanks to President Obama for everything you have done today and leading up to today.” He also thanked people who visited him and “subjected themselves to some of my ranting. To all those who tried to visit me but were unable to: thank you. I’m at your service as soon as I get some new teeth.” (Gross lost about five while in prison.)
Gross said he had the “utmost respect for and fondness of the people of Cuba. In no way are they responsible for the ordeal to which my family and I have been subjected. Cubanos are incredibly kind, generous and talented. It pains me to see them treated so unjustly. I truly hope we can get beyond these mutually belligerent policies.”
Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, who was part of the congressional delegation to welcome newly-freed Alan Gross, shared that Gross had kind words for John Kerry, who had also flown into Andrews. “Secretary Kerry’s plane flew in around the same time and Alan said to the Secretary of State: ‘thank you for not forgetting me’,” McGovern said. McGovern, who has long been pushing for changes to America’s policy towards Cuba, told BuzzFeed News that he and other members of Congress who were part of the delegation only found about Gross’ release from a Cuban jail last night. Vice President Joe Biden called McGovern on Tuesday night to share the news. McGovern called Gross “gracious and grateful” to members.
When Gross’ lawyer told him over the phone that he would be flown back to the US, there was a long pause. Then he said: “I’ll believe it when I see it,” the family spokeswoman said. When Gross boarded the plane, filled with elected officials, “there was a big bowl of popcorn waiting for Alan, because that was one of the things he said he missed over the last five years.” There was also a corned beef beef sandwich on rye with mustard, and latkes with applesauce and sour cream.
When the pilot announced they had left Cuban airspace. Alan stood up on the plane, took a deep breath, and called his two daughters. President Obama called him on the plane on the way back and congratulated him on his freedom. Gross thanked him. When the plane landed, more elected officials met Gross. Secretary of State John Kerry was coincidentally at Andrews Air Force Base, and watched Obama’s speech with Gross.

Text of remarks by Raul Castro (on screen):

Fellow countrymen, since my election as President of the State Council and Council of Ministers, I have reiterated in many occasions our willingness to hold a respectful dialogue with the United States on the basis of sovereign equality, in order to deal reciprocally with a wide variety of topics without detriment to the national independence and self-determination of our people.
This stance was conveyed to the US Government, both publicly and privately, by Comrade Fidel on several occasions during our long-standing struggle, stating the willingness to discuss and solve our differences without renouncing any of our principles.
The heroic Cuban people, in the wake of serious dangers, aggressions, adversities, and sacrifices has proven to be faithful and will continue to be faithful to our ideals of independence and social justice. Strongly united throughout these fifty-six years of Revolution, we have kept our unswerving loyalty to those who died in defense of our principles since the beginning of our independence wars in 1868.
Today, despite the difficulties, we have embarked on the task of updating our economic model in order to build a prosperous and sustainable Socialism. 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released this statement:

“Today, the United States secured the release of a Cuban individual from a Cuban prison who provided critical assistance to the United States. Information provided by this person was instrumental in the identification and disruption of several Cuban intelligence operatives in the United States, and ultimately led to a series of successful Federal espionage prosecutions. This man, whose sacrifices were known only to a few, has spent nearly twenty years in a Cuban prison due to his efforts on behalf of the United States. While many details of this individual’s cooperation remain classified, with his release today we can now discuss some of his contributions to our national security.
He provided the information that led to the identification and conviction of Defense Intelligence Agency senior analyst Ana Belen Montes; former Department of State official Walter Kendall Myers and his spouse Gwendolyn Myers; and members of the Red Avispa network, or Wasp Network, in Florida, which included members of the so-called Cuban Five.
In light of his sacrifice on behalf of the United States, securing his release from prison after twenty years in a swap for three of the Cuban spies he helped put behind bars is fitting closure to this Cold War chapter of US-Cuban relations.” 

Jeb Bush and the Republicans, of course, didn't like it:

Jeb Bush spoke out against the policy changes, according to USA Today: “I don’t think we should be negotiating with a repressive regime to make changes in our relationship” until Cuba changes, Bush said. Bush is the former governor of Florida. He has announced he was “actively exploring” the possibility of running for president in 2016.
Two Republican senators effectively threatened to block congressional funding for a future US Embassy in Cuba and an ambassadorial nomination after the Obama administration announced sweeping changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba.
“I anticipate I’ll be the chairman of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee on the Foreign Relations Committee” in the new Congress, Florida Senator Marco Rubio said in a press conference hours after the release of American prisoner Alan Gross from a Cuban prison was announced, along with the administration’s plans to normalize relations with Cuba, including opening an embassy there. “I anticipate we’re going to have a very interesting couple of years discussing how you’re going to get an ambassador nominated, and how you’ll get an embassy funded,” Rubio, an ardent opponent of lifting the Cuban embargo, said. “I intend to use every tool at our disposal in the majority to unravel as many of these changes as possible,” Rubio said.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: “I will do all in my power to block the use of funds to open an embassy in Cuba. Normalizing relations with Cuba is bad idea at a bad time.”

Much of the policy changes can be achieved through executive actions but, because Congress has ultimate control over how Federal funds will be spent, Obama can’t begin the process of constructing a new embassy in Havana without congressional approval.
A Senate Democratic appropriations aide acknowledged the administration also can’t simply repurpose funds that have already been appropriated to the State Department, explaining: “Any repurposing must be approved by the Appropriations Committee,” which, starting in January of 2015, will be controlled by the Republicans.
Rubio said that opponents of the changes in US policy toward Cuba will look to see if all of the changes fall within the “letter of the law”, though he acknowledged that many of the changes announced by the Obama administration fall “within the purview of the presidency”. Rubio said he had learned of the planned changes last night, and had received a call from Secretary of State John Kerry to brief him this morning. “This Congress is not going to lift the embargo,” Rubio said. Rubio criticized the changes, arguing that the shift will perpetuate the Cuban dictatorship, as well as the Venezuelan regime, which Cuba supports. He criticized Obama for swapping actual spies for a civilian, which he argued would set a precedent for other innocent Americans to be held hostage abroad.
House Speaker John Boehner called the deal part of a “long line of mindless concessions to a dictatorship” in a statement:

Relations with the Castro regime should not be revisited, let alone normalized, until the Cuban people enjoy freedom, and not one second sooner. There is no ‘new course’ here, only another in a long line of mindless concessions to a dictatorship that brutalizes its people and schemes with our enemies. If anything, this emboldens all state sponsors of terrorism, as they now have an even better idea of what the president meant when he once told Russian leaders he would have ‘more flexibility’ after his re-election. We have seen this before, and I fear we will see it again.
Despite these reservations about the President’s changes in our policy toward this Communist regime, we all feel great joy and relief for Alan Gross and his family. Americans does not forget our own, and we speak out today because we have a moral responsibility not to forget anyone anywhere who longs for liberty and dignity.

Rico says he'd long hoped for this; now, maybe, he and his friends might be able to afford to go to Havana next year for the sesquicentennial of the CSS Stonewall...