White House officials detailed the most significant changes to U.S. and Cuba foreign policy in more than 50 years.

During a conference call, a senior administration official acknowledged President Barack Obama's commitment to change policies that was originally viewed as a failure at the expense of advancing interests. The efforts to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba had encountered a setback with the imprisonment of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) subcontractor Alan Gross in Cuba. Gross would be freed from jail on humanitarian grounds in exchange for several Cubans imprisoned in the U.S.

"What we are doing is beginning the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba," the senior Obama administration official said, noting it was "severed" back in 1961. The normalization process includes the reestablishment of a U.S. embassy in Havana and a Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C.

"We do so in the belief that there are significant issues where we'd benefit from cooperation, like our current efforts to fight Ebola, where Cuba has dispatched hundreds of health care workers to Africa, but also issues like migration, counterterrorism, drug trafficking, disaster response, where practical cooperation can serve the interests of the United States and Cuba," the senior official said.

The senior administration official recognized that "strong differences" will remain between Cuba and the U.S., specifically on democracy and human rights issues.

"So, again, the fact that we are reestablishing diplomatic relations is, frankly, a better way in our view of advancing our interests and our values," the official said. "President Obama has long believed that engagement is a better tool than isolation, and nowhere is that clearer than in Cuba where we have seen a policy of isolation fail for the last 50 years in advancing American interests and values on the island."

Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism will also be under review. The White House revealed Obama has tasked Secretary of State John Kerry to determine if the designation should be removed.

The White House also seeks to significantly increase commerce, travel and the "flow of information to and from" Cuba. This aspect is part of the Obama administration's plans to ease restrictions on Americans and businesses to operate in Cuba. The administration official added that greater activity by Americans and businesses with Cuba could "promote openness and reform" in the island.

The "openness" continues with the U.S. no longer objecting to Cuba's participation at the Summit of the Americas conference in Panama next year. Despite Cuba's attendance, the U.S. will continue to urge democracy and human rights for the summit's agenda.

The Obama administration plans to increase the amount of money Americans can send to Cuba through remittances. Financial institutions are also allowed to open accounts in Cuba.

According to the senior administration official, the renewed relations were a result Obama authorizing a "high-level channel of communication" with the Cuban government since spring 2013. On behalf of the U.S., Assistant to the President Ben Rhodes and National Security Council's Western Hemisphere Director Ricardo Zuñiga also participated in the talks. Talks included multiple meetings with Cuban officials, which was usually hosted in another country. Canada was highlighted as host of a "majority" of the meetings; however, Canadian officials "did not participate in the substance" of the talks.

The Vatican also played a role in the improved relations as Pope Francis wrote a letter to Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. The letter called for the two countries to resolve the cases of the imprisoned individuals and renew diplomatic ties.

"I'd also note that the Cuban government has made some additional decisions. These are sovereign decisions of the Cuban government that we have welcomed," the administration official said. "Specifically, the Cuban government agreed to release 53 prisoners whose cases we brought to their attention. These are individuals that we believe are political prisoners, and we welcome very much their release. A number of those individuals have already been released, and we expect to continue to see those releases going forward."

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