On April 29, Cuban President Raul Castro seemed to throw some cold water on warming U.S.-Cuban relations. Speaking at an international conference, he said that U.S. changes in Cuba policy achieved "only the minimum." It is up to the United States, he said, not Cuba to show that it was serious about undoing 50 years of hostility.

The next day, Raul's brother, Fidel Castro, added to the criticism of the United States. He wrote in an Internet article that the United States wants Cuba to act like a "slave" willing to "accept again the whip and the yoke." Fidel warned that the United States "should never be under the illusion that Cuba will surrender."

In spite of this, the Obama administration continued to quietly push forward its efforts toward friendlier relations with President Castro's government. White House officials said that informal meetings are still planned between the U.S. State Department and Cuban representatives in the United States. The meetings will look for ways the two governments can open formal talks on a number of issues that at present divide them.