Kerry postpones potential trip to Cuba

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President Obama to visit Cuba in March

Obama would be the first sitting president to visit Cuba in 88 years

Secretary of State John Kerry will not travel to Cuba this week as previously planned, a State Department official told Fox News late Thursday.

“It has been postponed,” the official said and noted the Cuba trip had never been formally announced.

According to Kerry’s schedule, there were no public events planned for Thursday and Friday, which would have made it convenient for him to travel to Havana. He had previously mentioned a possible trip during a congressional hearing on Feb. 23.

According to Reuters, two U.S. officials said the trip had been canceled over Kerry’s concerns about Cuba’s human rights records.

They also mentioned U.S. and Cuban officials were in the middle of negotiations on issues including which dissidents Obama would visit during his trip to the island on March 21 and 22.

Cuba had allowed seven dissidents to travel outside the country ahead of Obama’s visit.

State Department spokesman John Kirby told Reuters in a statement that he had no updates on Kerry’s trip to Cuba. He said officials are still trying to determine the best time frame for him to visit.

"The Secretary is still interested in visiting in the near future, and we are working with our Cuban counterparts and our embassy to determine the best timeframe," Kirby added.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.

Click for more from Reuters.