(Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama has sent an indirect message to Cuban President Raúl Castro through Uruguay’s leader, asking Cuba to release a jailed U.S. aid contractor and encouraging political reforms, U.S. officials said on Friday.
It was a rare presidential-level communication between the United States and Cuba, which lack diplomatic relations and have been hostile neighbors for more than 50 years.
Obama and Castro famously shook hands at the funeral for South African leader Nelson Mandela in December, exchanging pleasantries but without discussing matters of state.
Uruguayan President José Mujica, a leftist who has actively sought a role in helping improve U.S.-Cuban relations, visited the White House in May.
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