Freed Cuban agents given heroes' welcomes as they land back home

Cuban President Raul Castro has confirmed he will participate in the Washington-backed Summit of the Americas in Panama in April, potentially setting up his first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama since the two countries agreed on Wednesday to re-establish diplomatic ties.

Read: Freed Cuban agents given heroes' welcomes as they land

Thee Cuban intelligence agents have been given heroes' welcomes as they landed back in their homeland after 16 years in prison in the US.

The men were released as part of a prisoner swap between the two countries, which heralded the start of a major policy shift to normalise relations after more than 50 years of hostility.

Gerardo Hernandez, aged 49, Antonio Guerrero, 56, and 51-year-old Ramon Labañino were greeted by Cuban President Raul Castro and throngs of family, friends and fans as they disembarked at Jose Marti International Airport.

The men - together with two others already released - are jointly referred to as the 'Cuban Five', and are celebrated as anti-terrorist heroes for their work spying on extremist Cuban exile groups in Florida.

A prisoner exchange and the announcement of a re-established US embassy in Havana mark a momentous turn in US-Cuban relations.

But some in America are distinctly unhappy at President Obama's decision to reach out to the communist state.

ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore reports.

Two of the leading Republican voices on U.S. foreign policy have denounced President Barack Obama's plans to ease U.S. restrictions on Cuba.

Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham claimed the move showed "America and the values it stands for in retreat and decline."

"It is about the appeasement of autocratic dictators, thugs, and adversaries, diminishing America's influence in the world," the pair said in a statement.

Video: An astonishing shift in US-Cuban relations

Freed aid worker Alan Gross said on Wednesday he was "very happy" to hear about the thaw in relations between the US and Cuba.

Speaking to the media after his release from Cuba, he thanked U.S. President Barack Obama for all he had done to secure his release and said he did not blame the Cuban people for his ordeal.

"Two wrongs never make a right. I truly hope that we can all get beyond these mutually belligerent policies and I was very happy to hear what the president had to say today," Gross said.

Video: An astonishing shift in US-Cuban relations

President Obama has announced a historic change in relations between the US and Cuba, ending 50 years of virtual separation between the two states.

But the move was met with hostility from some of his Republican opponents, who accused Mr Obama of rewarding a regime that suppresses its own population.

ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore reports.

Pope Francis has congratulated the United States and Cuba on their decision to establish diplomatic relations, and the Vatican said it was ready to support the strengthening of bilateral relations.

In a statement, the Vatican also confirmed that its diplomats facilitated talks between the two countries, "resulting in solutions acceptable to both parties."

Read: Three Cuban agents return home after 16 years in jail

Three Cuban intelligence agents who had served 16 years in U.S. jails have returned to Cuba.

They were released as part of a prisoner exchange in which Cuba freed an American foreign aid worker who had served five years in a Cuban prison, President Raul Castro said.

Castro said he spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama by telephone on Tuesday ahead of the announcement that the United States would be moving to normalise relations between the two countries.

Cuban president Raul Castro has confirmed that his government will release a man of Cuban origin who had spied for the United States.

President Obama says today's announcement of moves to normalise US relations with Cuba is "the most significant change" in policy in over 50 years.

He said the "outdated" approach of cutting Cuba off from the US had not delivered for either country.

Among the moves will be the re-establishment of a US embassy in the Cuban capital, Havana.

Read: Senator vows to block Obama move towards Cuba