OAS 'agrees to let Cuba rejoin' - BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8082146.stm

Foreign ministers of the 35-strong Organization of American States have voted to reinstate communist Cuba, unconfirmed reports say.

Revolutionary Cuba was suspended from the Washington-based organisation in 1962 over its "incompatible" adherence to Marxism-Leninism.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier the US opposed reinstating Cuba without democratic reforms.

It is not clear if the ministers attached conditions to the decision

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/69375.html

In defeat for U.S., OAS will let Cuba rejoin without conditions

By Frances Robles | Miami Herald


MIAMI — Cuba's 47-year suspension from the Organization of American States will be lifted, thanks to an agreement reached Wednesday by foreign ministers assembled in Honduras, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Francisco Falcone told reporters.

The United States had been pressuring the OAS for weeks to condition Cuba's readmission to the hemispheric group on democratic principles and commitment to human rights, but Falcone said there will be no such conditions.

''This is a new proposal, it has no conditions — of any kind,'' Falcone said. "That suspension was made in the Cold War, in the language of the Cold War. What we have done here is fix a historic error.''

Cuba was suspended from the OAS in 1962. More and more Latin American nations had pushed for Cuba to be readmitted.

Hillary Clinton worked through the day Tuesday trying to convince Latin America nations to allow some conditions but failed.

The US sanctions on Cuba have ALWAYS been bipartisan.

We've been exploiting, undermining, controlling, assassinating, supporting dictatorships, in Latin America since the 19th century yet we dare to condemn Cuba and claim that they are a danger to the Americas and shouldn't be allowed in the OAS until they reform.

One has to have a sense of humor when observing American foreign policy.

Let's see if Cuba even wants to rejoin that spineless organization.

This is Latin America taking up its own destiny and should be celebrated. Clinton and Obama didn't make this mess and thankfully, it isn't up to them to repair it.

With luck, this will be one region where the administration can develop better relations to the benefit of all concerned.