Ben Rhodes: ‘We Had Dozens and Dozens of Secret Talks with the Cubans in 2014 and 2014’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

MITCHELL: "When will the American embassy be opened in Havana?" 
RHODES: "Well, Andrea, we'd expect that the American embassy will be opened for the first time in over 54 years sometime shortly after the Cubans open their embassy here on the 20th. We'll do that around secretary Kerry's travel schedule, but it certainly be an historic day when he raises the stars and stripes over an American embassy in Havana for the first time since 1961." 
MITCHELL: "Ben, involved in all those secret negotiations. What was the key moment when you knew from talks in Canada, talks at the Vatican with pope Francis in the beginning? When did you know that this would come together?" 
RHODES: "Well, Andrea, we had dozens and dozens of hours of secret talks with the Cubans in 2013 and 2014. We began focusing on the issues of prisoners, getting Alan Gross released from Cuba, getting a U.S. Intelligence asset released. They had individuals, three in the United States, they wanted released. We began to broaden discussions in spring and summer of 2014 to bring in the broader relationship. That's what LED to the Cubans releasing a number of political prisoners that we were interested in seeing released, but then we talked about moving forward with a broader normalization of relations with the centerpiece of that effort being the establishment of diplomatic relations. Over the summer, I think that all came together. The president's made that decision. The Vatican got behind it. And on December 17th the president went out and signaled we were moving in this new direction."