Jimmy Carter visits Cuba
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In May 2002, former US President Jimmy Carter paid a controversial visit to Cuba, which had been subject to a US trade embargo for more than 40 years.
The trip culminated in a speech, broadcast live on Cuban radio and television, in which Carter called for the US to lift economic sanctions, while he encouraged President Fidel Castro to embrace democracy and uphold Cubans' civil liberties.
Jennifer McCoy accompanied Carter on the trip. She speaks to Ben Henderson.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
(Archive courtesy of The Carter Center)
(Photo: Jimmy Carter and Fidel Castro after a game of baseball. Credit: Jorge Rey via Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too. |
| 0:12.1 | You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me Nick Grimshaw. |
| 0:15.2 | And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music. |
| 0:18.2 | All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond. |
| 0:22.2 | And great guests. |
| 0:23.3 | And it's on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.7 | Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and live radio. |
| 0:29.9 | Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind. |
| 0:34.5 | But obviously start with our podcast, sidetrack. |
| 0:36.3 | Obviously. |
| 0:36.7 | Obviously. |
| 0:38.0 | So if you like music, listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:44.4 | Hello and welcome to Witness History from the BBC World Service with me, Ben Henderson. |
| 0:49.9 | For any new listeners, we're the podcast that takes you back to the biggest moments in living |
| 0:54.0 | memory by interviewing someone who was there. |
| 0:56.7 | Episodes are just 10 minutes long and come out every weekday, so make sure you subscribe and you'll never miss out. |
| 1:02.1 | In this episode, we're going back to May 2002, when the former US president, Jimmy Carter, paid a hugely controversial visit to Cuba, |
| 1:12.1 | which had been on the receiving end of a U.S. trade embargo for more than 40 years. |
| 1:18.4 | First, he was extremely driven really to accomplish his goal, some of the things that he didn't |
| 1:25.8 | finish during his presidency, driven by |
| 1:29.4 | his very strong faith. Jimmy Carter was U.S. president from 1977 to 1981. After his presidency, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.