U.S., Cuba Plan Embassies; Some Object

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican objections, especially from GOP presidential hopefuls, illustrate the obstacles ahead as U.S. and Cuban leaders plan to open embassies in Havana and Washington later this month.

But some GOP lawmakers are supporting Wednesday's announcement that the two Cold War foes are fully resuming diplomatic relations severed in 1961 — the year President Barack Obama was born.

Obama revealed the developments and asked Congress to lift the economic and travel embargoes the U.S. has used for decades in attempts to muscle Cuba toward democracy. The GOP-controlled Congress is unlikely to do that anytime soon.

But Obama has already eased parts of those restrictions on his own. And with business and agriculture groups backing efforts to increase trade with the island nation, some Republicans are supporting normalized relations.