Some Republican leaders are sharply criticizing the Obama administration for establishing official diplomatic ties with Cuba, the Caribbean island nation that has been under the control of Communist dictator Fidel Castro and his brother Raul since 1959. A number of GOP presidential candidates and the speaker of the House of Representatives have noted the continued oppression of the Cuban people under the Castros.

Obama announced Wednesday that the United States had reached a deal with the Castro regime that will see a reestablishment of full diplomatic relations with Cuba. “This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize our relationship with the Cuban government and people,” Obama said in a statement outside the White House. “There have been very real, profound differences between our governments, and sometimes we allow ourselves to be trapped by a certain way of doing things. For the United States, that meant clinging to a policy that was not working. Instead of supporting democracy and opportunity for the Cuban people, our efforts to isolate Cuba, despite our good intentions, had the opposite effect.”