MIAMI, Nov. 9 (UPI) —
President Barack Obama played golf in Florida Saturday, ending an overnight trip during which he spoke at Democratic fundraisers and met with Cuban dissidents.
One of the three fundraisers Obama attended Friday evening was hosted by Jorge Mas Santos, co-founder and chief executive officer MasTec, and chairman of the board of the Cuban American National Foundation leader, The Miami Herald reported. At the event, Obama, who has loosened travel restrictions to Cuba, paid tribute to dissidents there.
The president said the United States must be "creative and thoughtful" in its relationship with Cuba.
The two countries have not had diplomatic ties for a half century.
"The most important thing here was the recognition by the president of the United States, the most powerful democracy in the world," Guillermo Farinas, a Cuban doctor who has been jailed there and was allowed to leave the country earlier this year, told the Herald after meeting Obama.
The president traveled to Florida from New Orleans. During his southern swing, he has addressed the economy, immigration and of course the troubled start of his healthcare plan.
After a night in a Miami hotel, Obama was driven to the Grande Oaks Country Club in Fort Lauderdale for golf Saturday morning.
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