Leahy: US Flag Raising in Cuba Was Deeply Moving

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says seeing the U.S. flag raised over the newly reopened American Embassy in Cuba was deeply moving.

Leahy accompanied Secretary of State John Kerry to Havana for the opening of the embassy on Friday, where Kerry called for democratic change on the island ruled by a single party for more than five decades.

Millions of Cubans watched and listened live.

Political change remains a taboo topic in Cuba despite economic reforms and the reestablishment of diplomatic ties with the U.S. under President Raul Castro.

In June, Leahy led a bipartisan delegation to the island to meet with top government officials, business leaders, diplomats and Cuban citizens to measure the pace of economic and social change, and to determine the status of talks on detente.