President Obama is meeting with prominent Cuban-Americans days before he visits the Communist island.
Obama held a meeting Wednesday with 16 Cuban-Americans, including music producer Emilio Estefan, prominent businessman Mike Fernandez, Mas Tec chairman Jorge Mas and Ric Herrero from Cuba Now, White House officials said.
Estefan asked the president to meet with Cuban dissidents and create a plan of action for a more democratic Cuba.
"It doesn't make sense if you go and nothing happens in the end, I think this is good that Cuban people will decide and I think that in order to decide they will have to have free elections," Estefan said.
Obama's visit to Cuba next week is the first for a sitting U.S. president in nearly 90 years.
Obama and his family are expected to arrive in Havana on Sunday afternoon. White House officials said he'll visit sites in Old Havana, including the Cathedral.
On Monday, he'll meet with Raul Castro. Castro will also host the first family for a state dinner.
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To wrap up his visit, President Obama will attend a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team.
NBC 6 will have team coverage of the president's historic trip, beginning with live reports from Havana on Friday night.
