Raul Castro: US must return Guantanamo for normal relations

The US established the military base in 1903, and the current Cuban government has been demanding the land's return since the 1959 revolution that brought it to power. Cuba also wants the US to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for losses caused by the embargo.

"The re-establishment of diplomatic relations is the start of a process of normalizing bilateral relations, but this will not be possible while the blockade still exists, while they don't give back the territory illegally occupied by the Guantanamo naval base," Castro said.

He demanded that the US end the transmission of anti-Castro radio and television broadcasts and deliver "just compensation to our people for the human and economic damage that they're suffered."

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Castro's remarks.

John Caulfield, who led the US Interests Section in Havana until last year, said that the tone of Cuba's recent remarks didn't mean it would be harder than expected to reach a deal on short-term goals like reopening full embassies in Havana and Washington.

In fact, he said, the comments by Castro and high-ranking diplomats may indicate the pressure Cuba's government is feeling to strike a deal as Cubans' hopes for better living conditions rise in the wake of Obama's outreach.