As it happened: President Obama in historic visit to Cuba

Summary

US President Barack Obama is first sitting US president to visit Cuba in 90 years
Mr Obama addresses Cubans at El Gran Teatro de La Havana, with President Raul Castro in attendance
Final day also sees US president meet civil society activists and attend a baseball game
The White House first announced restored diplomatic ties in July 2015
On Monday the two leaders sparred over human rights issues but hailed progress in diplomatic relationship

Live Reporting

Jasmine Coleman and Ashley Gold

Dissidents 'planned to get arrested'published at 13:35 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2016
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Havana
Image source, Reuters
Only hours before Mr Obama touched down, dozens of members of the dissident group Ladies in White were arrested during their weekly protest in Havana. The group campaigns for the release of political prisoners.
The BBC has learned that the dissidents told US officials beforehand that they were planning to get arrested. That went as planned, drawing attention to their issues. It's expected that they will be released tomorrow.
US officials say they have faced lots of problems in their efforts to work with Cuban officials - mainly about who controls the visit.
US officials have been quietly pressing Cuban officials in various fronts. They have been trying to convince President Raul Castro to be more open, and were surprised and pleased when the Cuban officials agreed to televise Mr Obama's speech. And the Americans have been trying to convince President Castro to take a question at a press briefing.
Who are the Ladies in White?
'The time is right' - President Obamapublished at 13:24 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2016
In an interview with with ABC News, President Obama said his visit to Cuba would speed up change in the country.
"Obviously our intention has always been to get a ball rolling knowing that change wasn't going to happen overnight," he said.
"But what we've already seen is the reopening of the embassy and, although we still have significant differences around human rights and individual liberties inside of Cuba, we felt that coming now would maximise our ability to prompt more change."
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Cubans gather to catch a glimpse of Obamapublished at 13:19 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2016
Image source, EPA
Image source, AP
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President Obama to lay wreath at national hero memorialpublished at 13:14 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2016
Tom Geoghegan
BBC News, Havana
President Obama begins his first full day in Havana by laying a wreath at the memorial of Jose Marti in Revolution Plaza.
The square has played a pivotal role in Cuban history with rousing speeches by Fidel Castro and two papal Masses.
Revolutionaries Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos can be seen at the southern end, but it is the marble sculpture of Marti that dominates the plaza.
This 19th Century writer, poet and political activist is a national hero without equal in Cuba, so crucial was he in the campaign to liberate the island from Spanish rule.
His death at the hands of the Spanish was poignant in the extreme. With no military experience, he was shot dead on horseback just a month after joining the war, following criticism that he was a writer who never got his hands dirty in battle.
“I am good, and as a good man, I will die facing the sun,” he once wrote.
Big day aheadpublished at 13:05 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2016
BBC News correspondents in Cuba for Obama visit
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President Obama is first US president to visit Cuba in 88 yearspublished at 13:02 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2016
Image source, AP
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of President Obama's historic three-day visit to Cuba. He is the first sitting US president to visit since the 1959 revolution, which heralded decades of hostility between the two countries. Mr Obama will meet Cuba's President Raul Castro as well as dissident groups and entrepreneurs during his trip, which hopes to improve US-Cuban relations.
The White House first announced restored diplomatic ties in July 2015, and since then, the countries have opened embassies, loosened trade and travel restrictions. However there are still many sticking points such as the trade embargo and human rights.