OAS votes to readmit Cuba

The Organization of American States (OAS) opened the door for Cuba to return to the body after a 47-year absence.

The agreement to readmit Cuba was reached by unanimity during a plenary session of the OAS general assembly this afternoon in Honduras. "The Cold War has ended this day in San Pedro Sula," declared Honduran President Manuel Zelaya while Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Fander Falconi deemed it a “moment of rejoicing for all of Latin America."

The decision was a compromise that calls for "a process of dialogue" parallel to the OAS' "practices, proposals and principles", and rejected a push by the U.S. to force preconditions before lifting the suspension. Nonetheless, the move “eliminates a distraction from the past and allows us to focus on the realities of today” according to a statement from the State Department.

Cuba’s government has repeatedly rejected overtures to return to the OAS and that may continue regardless of today’s actions:

The news came as former Cuban leader Fidel Castro reiterated that Cuba had no desire to rejoin.

Writing in state newspapers on Wednesday, he said the OAS should not exist and historically had "opened the doors to the Trojan horse" of the US to "wreak havoc in Latin America".

Image- AFP (“Honduras' Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas reads the Organization of American States' (OAS) agreement to readmit Cuba.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, AP, BBC News, Bloomberg