OAS Votes to Readmit Cuba

The Organization of American States voted today to revoke a 1962 measure expelling communist Cuba, reversing a landmark of the Cold War in the hemisphere. It was not immediately clear if the ministers set democratic reform or human-rights conditions on Cuba's return to full participation in the organization, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged.

Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Honduras have demanded Cuba's return to the 34-nation OAS without preconditions. Cuba's government, however, has repeatedly said it has no interest in joining. Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote in state newspapers today that OAS should not exist and historically has "opened the doors to the Trojan horse"—the US—to wreak havoc in Latin America. (More Cuba stories.)