In pictures: Obama in Cuba
- Published
President Barack Obama has arrived in Cuba for a historic visit to the island and talks with its communist leader.
The US president emerged smiling from Air Force One, with first lady Michelle and their daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Holding umbrellas, the party walked in light drizzle along a red carpet to be greeted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
Local residents watched the motorcade transporting Mr Obama and his family to Havana.
Two hours after landing, Mr Obama greeted staff from the US embassy with the words: "It is wonderful to be here." He added the trip was a chance to for him to lay out a "vision for a future that is brighter than our past".
Barack Obama's visit, the first by a sitting US president since the 1959 revolution, is being seen as a significant step towards the full normalisation of relations between the US and Cuba after decades of hostility. Here, people watch the president's motorcade in Havana.
The Obamas later began a walkabout in Old Havana.
The tour was meant to see them interacting with ordinary Cubans on the streets, but this part of the itinerary was marred by a tropical storm.
They huddled under umbrellas before visiting the national cathedral.
The family also took a walking tour of Museum of the City of Havana, with historian Eusebio Leal.
President Obama's visit is the highpoint of a recent easing of ties, which included the opening of embassies last year.
But only hours before his arrival, protesters calling for the release of political prisoners were arrested in the capital, Havana. Police took away dozens of demonstrators from the Ladies in White group, formed of political prisoners' wives, from outside a church where they attempt to hold weekly protests.
During the three-day trip Mr Obama will meet President Raul Castro, but not retired revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, and the pair will discuss trade and political reform. On Tuesday, the US president is expected to attend a baseball game at the Estadio Latino Americano, where the Tampa Bay Rays are taking on the Cuban national team.