Barack Obama And Raul Castro Shake Hands At Mandela Funeral

Barack Obama And Raul Castro Shake Hands At Nelson Mandela Funeral

A historic moment happened during the funeral service for the legendary former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. United States President Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro seemed to put aside differences that were set in place over decades and had a friendly handshake.

This is the first time two heads of state from the once rival countries showed signs of friendliness since Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro greeted each other at a United Nations dinner in New York.

Just moments after the legendary hand shake, U.S. President Barack Obama criticized governments that embrace Mandela’s ideas of racial equality and reconciliation but fail to embrace his vision when it comes to actual reforms, holding their people as prisoners for the benefit of their political views.

After delivering his eulogy, President Obama also hugged Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who herself criticized the U.S. for the way the NSA spied on heads of state of U.S. allied countries.

Representatives of the White House have confirmed that the handshake between President Raul Castro and Barack Obama was a genuine moment of polightness between the two heads of state and was in no way pre-planned. The gesture was in the spirit of Mandela’s reconciliatory legacy, and remains a testament to the power the former South African head of state has, even after his passing.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday December 11 2013, 2:56 AM EST. Ref: nbc. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0