Venezuelan, Argentine and Chilean leaders on Wednesday hailed the "historic" resolution of the Organization of American States (OAS) on revoking the exclusion against Cuba, Xinhua reported.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said at national TV and radio broadcast that the OAS decision "recognized the revolutionary Cuba."
The countries in the Americas are no longer colonies or backyards of the U.S., Chavez said. "We are in the 21st century with a very different realty than the one in the 1960s," he added.
In Argentina, President Cristina Fernandez said the OAS's decision to annul the sanction against Cuba imposed many years ago was "historic."
Fernandez said that during the 5th Summit of the Americas, held in Trinidad and Tobago, she had called for lifting the OAS sanctions against Cuba. "In the Americas new winds are blowing," she said.
Meanwhile, Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez celebrated on Wednesday Cuba's possible re-entry to the OAS.
"It is a truly historic moment for the OAS," he said. He also noted that Chile did not approve the sanction in 1962. "In that sense, our country celebrates the lifting of it," Fernandez told local press.
The 34 members of the OAS held meeting in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Wednesday, unanimously agreeing to scrap the suspension against Cuba, which was imposed in 1962. The move was considered another step by Washington to ease Cold War tensions. E