WATCH: Cuban Embassy Reopens in D.C., After 54 Years

PHOTO: Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla (standing behind honor guard) oversees the raising of the flag Monday morning at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of C-SPAN

Video by C-SPAN; used with permission from C-SPAN

_____________

The Embassy of Cuba reopened in Washington, D.C. Monday morning, 54 years after it closed. The Cuban flag was raised in front of the embassy at 10:30 a.m. ET, overseen by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. Full diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States were restored at midnight, the State Department said.

“In accordance with President Barack Obama’s announcement on July 1, effective today the United States and Cuba have re-established diplomatic relations,” the State Department announced on its Facebook page Monday morning.

Also today, the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba officially became U.S. Embassy Havana, the State Department noted in its announcement.

Secretary Kerry will meet with Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez Monday at 1 p.m. at the Department of State. (You can watch it live here: state.gov)

Kerry will then travel to Cuba later this summer to celebrate the re-opening of U.S. Embassy Havana and raise the U.S. flag.

The two countries severed relations 54 years ago when Fidel Castro overthrew the regime of U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Cuba became the first Communist state in the Western hemisphere after Castro, a 32-year-old lawyer, led rebels to victory on the streets of Havana, overthrowing Batista.

President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro, Fidel Castro’s brother, announced in December that the two countries were working to normalize diplomatic relations. Fidel Castro, 88, stepped down in 2008, due to illness.

The Cuban Embassy is located at 2630 16th St. NW, in Washington, D.C. The building has served as an “interests section” since 1977.

(Watch a C-SPAN video of the flag-raising here.)