More than a half century after it closed, the United States has reopened its embassy in Cuba. Present at the ceremony Aug. 14 to celebrate the reopening was John Kerry, the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the island country in 70 years, who called the flag-raising a “historic moment.” He praised the progress that the two countries have made in their relationship, while reminding all concerned that much work remains to be done.

Reopening the embassy has been the dream of many people in the U.S., although there were radically divergent visions under which this would occur. For some, it would mean the collapse of the authoritarian Castro regime and the end of rule by the Communist Party of Cuba.

For others, it would signal the return of common sense and the end of policies that failed to bring about meaningful change for over half a century. For the first group, that second vision looked like appeasement and abandonment of Cuba’s long-suffering democrats. Not surprisingly, critics have vowed to slow, if not stymie, the normalization process.

In his remarks, Kerry made clear that the U.S. will continue to press for political reform in Cuba. Insisting that “the people of Cuba would be best served by a genuine democracy, where people are free to choose their leaders,” he warned that the economic embargo that has isolated the island will remain in place until there is movement on issues of conscience.

That policy makes some sense. It ensures that the U.S. retains leverage over the Cuban government, but the more prosaic reality is that only Congress can lift the embargo and the GOP-led legislature will never do that. Sadly, however, retaining the embargo provides the Havana government with a convenient scapegoat for its own failings.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro charged that the U.S. owes his country millions of dollars because of the embargo and that complete normalization of relations will occur only when it ends. Plainly, this process will be long and arduous, and is only beginning.