Foreign Policy: (Excerpt) The OAS would have been a great chance for Cuba to do just that. But Cuba won’t rejoin the organization, which Fidel Castro once called a “Yankee bordello,” anytime soon. The island’s leaders did hail the OAS’s invitation as a great victory, of course. But becoming an OAS member would subject Cuba [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Latin America’
June 4, 2009
Cuba Re-admitted into the OAS
Miami Herald: 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, diplomats here announced.
”The cold war has ended today in San Pedro Sula,” Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said.
The United States– which had been pressuring the OAS for weeks to condition [...]
May 23, 2009
Obama Signals Willingness to Start Direct Talks with Cuba
NY Times: In a new gesture toward Cuba, the Obama administration signaled willingness on Friday to reopen a channel with Havana that was closed under President George W. Bush by scheduling high-level meetings on migration between the two countries.
The move comes as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is trying to fend off pressure from [...]
May 1, 2009
Palestinian Embassy Opens in Venezuela
VA: On Monday, Venezuela and the Palestinian Authority established formal diplomatic relations and announced the opening of a Palestinian embassy in Caracas.
Venezuelan Foreign Relations Minister Nicolás Maduro and his Palestinian colleague Riyad Al-Malki met in Caracas and pledged their countries’ mutual solidarity.
“We are taking a step toward justice by establishing official relations with the Palestinian [...]
April 18, 2009
President Obama at Summit of Americas/Ian Bremmer on What (not) to Expect
NY Times: President Obama, seeking to thaw long-frozen relations with Cuba,
told a gathering of Western Hemisphere leaders on Friday that “the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba,” and that he was willing to have his administration engage the Castro government on a wide array of issues.
Mr. Obama’s remarks, during the opening ceremony at [...]
April 14, 2009
Obama Softens Ban on Cuba Travel
Miami Herald: Calling it ”extending a hand to the Cuban people,” the Obama administration on Monday announced it is lifting travel and gift restrictions for Cuban Americans, allowing them to travel freely to the island and send additional financial help to family members.
”This is a reaching out to the Cuban people,” said White House spokesman [...]
April 5, 2009
Almost History: Israel in Latin America
It helps to understand Israel as a power unlimited by the Middle East. It has an active foreign policy with pursuits well beyond the Palestinian homeland.
Israel’s Latin American trail of terror
By Jeremy Bigwood
Al Jazeera: “I learned an infinite amount of things in Israel, and to that country I owe part of my essence, my [...]
April 2, 2009
Chavez Offers to take Gitmo Prisoners
BBC: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he is prepared to receive detainees held by the US military at the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba.
US President Barack Obama has ordered the closure of the controversial camp, in which around 240 inmates are held, by next year.
Mr Chavez made his offer at a summit of South [...]
April 1, 2009
Latin American States Back Palestine
Peninsula: The South American leaders who addressed the opening session of the second Arab-South American Summit declared their solidarity with the Arab stand in bringing lasting peace to Palestine.
Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile and the Chair of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), condemned the recent aggression on Gaza. “The UNASUR will play [...]
