Squashing the last 50 years of Cold War isolation, the United States and Cuba reopened their embassies in each other’s respective capitals today. A sign of the private diplomatic endeavors by the Obama administration towards the communist island, many see the restoration of diplomatic relations as a move towards the eventual lifting of the trade embargo that has made Cuba a financial pariah in the world along the likes of North Korea and Iran. In Havana, hundreds of applicants have already lined up to push forward and acquire work and travel visas as an effort to reconnect with family who fled decades ago.

Photo: washingtonpost.com