Urges other Latin American nations to act in response to Cuba embargo
updated 5:56 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 2008
COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil - Latin American nations should expel U.S.
ambassadors until the United States lifts its embargo on Cuba, Bolivian
President Evo Morales said Wednesday. But his remarks found little
support from other regional leaders.
Morales made the demand while speaking at a summit of Latin American and
Caribbean leaders in this beach resort in northeastern Brazil.
"I want to make a proposal that many are not going to like: Set a time
limit for the new U.S. government to lift the economic blockade" against
Cuba, Morales said, using the tough term for U.S. sanctions that Cuba
and its allies use.
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"If the new government doesn't lift the economic blockage, we are going
to lift our ambassadors," said Morales, who expelled the U.S. ambassador
to Bolivia in September over a different issue, accusing him of siding
with violent opposition protests.
The Bolivian president's demand did not receive much support from other
leaders, many of whom have expressed hope that President-elect Barack
Obama will have a friendlier approach to the left-leaning governments
that now hold power in many Latin American nations.
The summit's host, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said
the region should wait to see what policies the new U.S. administration
will follow.
"We must be prudent and diplomatic and wait for Obama to assume power,"
Silva said. "I am hopeful that American policies toward Latin America
and the Caribbean will change."
The summit that ended Wednesday has been a victory lap of sorts for
Cuba, newly admitted into the Rio Group of Latin American nations. Cuban
President Raul Castro participated.
Many Latin American nations oppose the U.S. embargo of Cuba, but none
has cut ties to the U.S. because of it.
The press attache for the U.S. Embassy in Brazil, Orna Blum, declined to
comment on Morales' statement, but said that "our policy toward Cuba
seeks the promotion of the peaceful transition to democracy" and said it
"reflects a broad hemispheric commitment to democracy and human rights
as expressed in the Inter-American Democratic Charter."
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