OAS Lifts Ban on Cuba

The Organization of American States (OAS) has lifted its 47-year ban on Cuba, inviting Cuba to return if it meets certain conditions. Nevertheless, Cuba has said it will not return.

The Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas Baca read the resolution to delegates in San Pedro Sula.

She said Cuba can rejoin after initiating a dialogue with the group and conforming to its practices and principles.

The document says those principles include democracy, self-determination and human rights.

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Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Cuba and other Latin American nations have suffered a long history of injuries at the hands of so-called imperialism. He told delegates that the United States could do even more to reconcile the past.

Maduro said it should not be too much to ask for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba. He said Venezuela welcomed the OAS decision but it was not enough.

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In Washington, a group of U.S. congressmen condemned the OAS decision and proposed a bill that would withhold U.S. funding for the group, which is based in the U.S. capital. In a statement, Florida Representative Connie Mack said hundreds of Cubans live as political prisoners and many suffer constant fear and repression.