Colombia’s Santos Urges U.S. to End Cuba’s Isolation

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg News

Colombia’s Santos Urges U.S. to End Cuba’s Isolation
By Matthew Bristow and Eric Martin - Apr 14, 2012 4:10 PM CT

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos called the U.S.-backed blockade of Cuba a Cold War-era anachronism, and said the continued isolation of the communist island is unacceptable.

“The isolation, the embargo, the indifference, and looking the other way, have shown their ineffectiveness,” Santos said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena. “In today’s world, this path isn’t justified. It’s an anachronism that they are anchored in a cold war that ended decades ago.”

Santos flew to Havana in March to meet with President Raul Castro and head off the threat of a boycott by nations allied to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, frustrated by Cuba’s non- attendance. President Barack Obama has faced criticism on U.S. policy toward Cuba even from friendly leaders such as Santos and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.

“Just as it would be unacceptable to have another hemispheric meeting with Haiti still prostrate, so it would be without Cuba present,” Santos said in his speech.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-14/colombia-s-santos-urges-u-s-to-end-cuba-s-isolation-1-.html

[Louisiana1976]

1. Santos is right.

The US boycott of Cuba is a relic of the Cold War and it's high time it was ended.

[dhill926]

2. + 1.......

[flamingdem]

4. +2

[Cali_Democrat]

7. +3

[roody]

9. +4

[lib2DaBone]

3. End Cuba isolation.. end the massive spending for the War On Drugs...

Maybe when the United States starts acting like a responsible citizen.. the rest of the world will follow suit.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. The U.S. does business with the biggest commie country, China, but embargos CUBA still. Sick nt

[Judi Lynn]

6. Cuba becomes major issue at hemispheric summit

Posted on Saturday, 04.14.12
Cuba becomes major issue at hemispheric summit

Cuba’s exclusion, attempts to legalize drugs and Argentina’s claim over the Falklands Islands were major issues Saturday, first day of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia.

By Sibylla Brodzinsky
Special to The Miami Herald

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- Cuba was not invited to the hemispheric summit that opened Saturday in this Caribbean colonial city but the communist country loomed large over the meeting of 30 leaders from the Americas, some of whom failed in an eleventh-hour push to invite Cuba.

Calling the U.S. embargo on Cuba anachronistic, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said this should be the last of the regional summits without Cuba. As expected, he also called for the region to begin an objective analysis of the drug policy and look for alternatives.

Both were uncomfortable issues for President Barack Obama, who also had to face the embarrassment of a prostitution scandal involving as many as a dozen secret service agents sent to the city to as part of his security detail. And Southern Command, based in Doral, on Saturday announced that five military personnel also are under investigation for “inappropriate conduct” in Cartagena.

On Cuba, Santos gave a strongly worded opening address at the two-day meeting in which he called for dialogue.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/14/2748598/cuba-becomes-major-issue-at-hemispheric.html#storylink=cpy

[Judi Lynn]

8. Cuba is sticking point in Latin America summit

Cuba is sticking point in Latin America summit
Updated: April 14, 2012 - 9:11 PM

The latest: A summit of 33 Western Hemisphere leaders opened in Cartagena, Colombia on Saturday with the United States and Canada standing firm, but against everyone else's insistence that Cuba join future summits. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, a U.S. ally, called Cuba's exclusion an unjustified anachronism of the Cold War. "This is the last Summit of the Americas," Bolivia's foreign minister David Choquehuanca said, "unless Cuba is allowed to take part."

Economy: President Obama dismissed talk of tension, focusing instead on economic issues. He declared a new environment for cooperation exists in the Americas.

Drug talks: On the drug front, Obama flatly declared that legalizing drugs was not the solution to the violence that has confronted the region. He said he was open to holding the debate, but that strong economies, the rule of law and reduced demand for drugs would better contain the flow of drugs.

~snip~

What's next: The fate of the summit's final declaration is uncertain as Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay said they wouldn't sign it Sunday unless the opposition to Cuba is dropped.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/147452555.html

[dipsydoodle]

10. K & R

.

[rayofreason]

11. End the counterproductive embargo. n/t

[Hulk]

12. It'll NEVER happen until after the election....

...but it should have happened thirty years ago, when mr Alzheimer asked Gorbachev to "take down that wall...." BS.

[2ndAmForComputers]

13. That guy is most certainly no Uribe.

Good.

[Zorro]

14. Here's a suggestion

The Latin American countries step up pressure on the Castro regime to change their oppressive policies.

It's not a one-way street.