US President Barack Obama's visit to Havana is touted as "historic" mostly because he is the first sitting United States president in 88 years to set foot on Cuban soil.

In that sense, he has made history by simply being there.

What makes his trip truly historic, and potentially "game-changing", however, is that it represents a change in the US' approach to the country, from containment to engagement, demonstrating once again, after the negotiated resolution of the Iran nuclear issue, that engagement can work a miracle where confrontation can't.