The last American in Cuba

By: Brooke Kavit

John Kerry travels to Cuba on Friday, the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the island nation in decades. In honor of the historic occasion, AOL.com is examining the tense relationship between the U.S. and its communist neighbor.

Wayne Smith, 83, was a young diplomat posted to Havana in 1961 when the U.S. closed its embassy and cut off diplomatic ties with Cuba. Although he happened decades ago, today he speaks of the momentous occasion as if it was yesterday.

SEE ALSO: Cuba's human rights still a hurdle ahead of Kerry's visit

"It was a very emotional day," he explains. The embassy staff was loaded onto a bus, and was being 'guarded' by a very unusual group.

"The Cubans had sent a company of women militia to protect us from the angry mob. Really there was no angry mob, there were lots of people there, but they were just hoping to get visas before we left," says Smith.

Watch below to learn more about the current situation in Cuba:

As the embassy staff climbed aboard the ferry back to the U.S., an interesting sight caught Smith's eye.

%shareLinks-quote=""It was almost dusk and we could see the lights of the embassy blinking on and off. Obviously it was our local employees saying farewell." " type="quote" author="Wayne Smith" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false"%

Smith would travel back to Cuba under the Carter administration, and have the chance to reconnect with some of his former local colleagues. He told them he had seen the lights flickering in the embassy as he sailed back to Miami.

"One of them almost burst into tears and said 'Oh, you did see it!'" recalls Smith.

Smith remembers chatting with the other members of the embassy staff as they made their way back to the U.S. They never dreamed it would take decades to restore relations with Cuba.

"We all thought it would take maybe four or five years, we never would've dreamed it would be more than 50," Smith says with a chuckle. "It's absurd that it did take that long."

From 1979 to 1982, Smith would serve as the Chief of Mission of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. An Interests Section is the equivalent to an embassy in a country where no formal diplomatic relations exist.

"President Carter said he wanted a dialogue with Cuba," says Smith. However, many of Carter's advisors warned him against taking on the issue. The Reagan administration would continue the policy of silence.

Smith left the Foreign Service in 1982 and began teaching, eventually joining the Center for International Policy. He would continue to take delegations to Cuba, and continued to push American officials to open up a dialogue with the country.

%shareLinks-quote="Yes, we had disagreements with the Cubans and conflicts of interests. But the best way to narrow the conflicts is through engagement, not embargoes and silence." type="quote" author="Wayne Smith" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false"%

Smith found renewed hope for communication between the two nations when President Barack Obama came to office. He feels that it finally became apparent the U.S.'s policy on Cuba was counterproductive.

"We became the isolated ones, all the other countries in the hemisphere established relations and traded with Cuba. We were the only ones left out," stresses Smith.

Smith hopes that Americans will eventually travel freely to Cuba. He was actually on the island on July 1, 2015, the day the president announced the two nations would reestablish a diplomatic relationship. "I went downstairs that day and the streets were crowded with people celebrating," says Smith.

After 54 long years, Smith will be in Cuba again when the U.S. flag is finally hoisted above the embassy where he once worked. He is encouraged by the great strides the U.S. has taken in its relationship with Cuba, but maintains that the embargo must also be lifted.

%shareLinks-quote="Now the real work begins." type="quote" author="Wayne Smith" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false"%

See vintage photos of Cuba:

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